Mass Effect: Beyond
by drander24601
Summary: Miranda Lawson, an Ex-Cerberus Operative, joins the Alliance after the Battle for Earth during the Reaper War. With the Reapers helping rebuild and recover this cycle's civilizations, Miranda wonders what caused them to switch sides so quickly. She goes on a daring mission, aided by Shepard's squad, to uncover the Commander's fate and solve the mystery of the Reaper War.
1. Forward

Mass Effect: Beyond

During the Battle for Earth in the year 2186, a human known as Commander Shepard gave his life to take control of the galactic threat known as the Reapers. Using the ancient device known as the Crucible, Shepard sacrificed his corporeal form to become the new Reaper conscious. The Citadel sent out a pulse that put all Reaper forces in the galaxy under Shepard's control. The Mass Relays were damaged, The Citadel was damaged, and the races that banded together were scattered across the galaxy. The Normandy SR2 and its full crew left the battlefield under the order of Admiral Hackett, and was forced to crash land on an unknown planet…

Authors Note:

This is my little fantasy story of what happens after the Mass Effect 3 ending. Note that this is also based on one of my playthroughs. I will list below who has survived, what choices were made, and so on. I have decided to not change the ending mainly to respect the creators and writers of Bioware, and what happens after Earth should correlate with what happened in the final moments of the game. Some parts I add in, but still maintain their continuity. I hope you enjoy this story, and I hope it inspires some creativity and thought for all ME players.

Shepard Gender: Male

Shepard Class: Sentinel

Shepard Background: Spacer

Shepard War History: War Hero

ME1 Events:

Destroyed the Last Rachni Queen

Ashley killed Urdnot Wrex on Virmire

Kaidan Alenko was left to guard the nuke on Virmire

No one was romanced during the events of ME1

Sacrificed the Council

Convinced Saren that he was indoctrinated; Saren committed suicide

Donnel Udina was nominated for the position of Councilor

ME2 Events:

Knew little of Cerberus upon waking up

Recruited every dossier for the Suicide Mission

Activated Legion

Romanced Miranda Lawson

Helped Kasumi recover Keji's Greybox

Helped Miranda relocate her sister Oriana

Helped Jacob find his father

Helped Jack blow up her base on Pragia

Helped Thane stop his son from assassinating Joram Talid

Helped Garrus settle his "dispute" with Sidonis; Saved Sidonis

Helped Samara track down Morinth; Saved Samara

Helped Tali by representing her in Quarian court; Cleared Tali's name

Helped Legion defeat the Geth Heretics; Rewrote the Heretics

Failed to convince Zaeed Massani to let go of his grudge with Vigo Santiago

Failed to travel to Tuchanka to figure out Grunt's problem

Failed to help Mordin Solus find his student Maelon

Resolved the dispute between Jack and Miranda

Resolved the dispute between Tali and Legion

Squadmates that died in the Suicide Mission: Mordin Solus

Destroyed the Collector Base

Helped Liara become the new Shadow Broker

Did not investigate Project Overlord

Stopped the Arrival

ME3 events:

Picked up Diana Allers

Recovered Primarch Victus

Recruited Kasumi Goto for the War Effort

Remained Faithful to Miranda Lawson romantically

Rescued the Grissom Academy Students; Recruited Jack for the War Effort

Recruited KBAJ for the War Effort

Urdnot Wreav is clan leader

Killed the Reaper Rachni; Recruited Grunt for the War Effort

Deactivated the Bomb on Tuchanka

Did not cure the Genophage; Wreav lived, Eve died

Convinced Ashley to stand down during the Coup Attempt

Ashley rejoins the Normandy

Awakened Javik

Zaeed Massani died when attempting to rescue Din Korlack

Destroyed the Ardat-Yakshi Sanctuary; Recruited Samara for the War Effort

Saved Ex-Cerberus scientists; Recruited Jacob Taylor for the War Effort

Helped Aria take back Omega

Helped Quarians take back Rannoch; Comprised Truce between Quarians and Geth

Investigated Leviathan; Saved Ann Bryson; Convinced Leviathans to enter the War

Resolved the conflict between Liara and Javik after Thessia

Dissolved Sanctuary; Recruited Miranda for the War Effort

Stopped Clone Shepard from taking his identity; Threw an Epic Party

Joker and EDI entered a relationship

James and Ashley are involved romantically

Garrus and Tali are involved romantically

Convinced The Illusive Man he was indoctrinated; Illusive Man committed suicide

Chose to use the Crucible to Control the Reapers

Shepard's Relationships:

Love Interest: Miranda Lawson

Best Friend: Garrus Vakarian

Most Loyal Squadmate: Ashley Williams

Shepard's Greatest Loss: Thane Krios

Ok, I think I'm ready to start the story. Thank you for reading. Hopefully it will make this story easier to connect with.


	2. Chapter 1: Miranda

Chapter 1: Miranda

Miranda Lawson looked out from the ledge at a dark and rugged battlefield that used to be London. It didn't look it now. The Reapers had turned it into their own circle of hell. She looked on, not truly believing that all this, this war, was really happening. Looking down, she realized this was a courthouse she was standing in. A gold plaque read, "In God We Trust." She looked over the edge. "To have dug into the ground and taken out that much earth," she thought to herself. She estimated it was a 100-foot drop to the ground below, maybe a little less.

She heard a sound. Miranda dropped behind a busted up column and drew her pistol. A group of Cannibals and Marauders were responding to the loud explosion of Lawson's personal fighter being shot out of the sky. They were getting closer to Miranda's hiding place. Just a few more feet and she would have to defend herself. Suddenly, a sniper shot took the head off one of the Marauders. A group of Alliance marines came out from behind a hidden alleyway and engaged the enemy forces. The Reapers were taken by surprise, but countered the troopers' attack by mercilessly bombing them with frag grenades and volley fire. Miranda joined in, jumping from cover and lending the soldiers her biotic abilities, giving them a much-needed edge against the Reaper ground forces. She picked up a Cannibal and tossed it over the edge and into long, deep chasm. She sent a rippling shockwave back behind her through a pack of Cannibals, relieving some of the marines from their fire. She shot at the last Marauder with her M-3 pistol before the marines blistered it with incendiary rounds. She felt the adrenaline pumping through her veins after the shooting ended. The Reapers were all dead, and few casualties on the Alliance side. But the skirmish was over. For now, of course.

Miranda took this as an opportunity to introduce herself. "Lawson, Miranda. Ex-Cerberus Operative." She said as she walked to the troops. "My fighter got shot down." "Yea, we heard it from a few cliques back," barked one marine. "You all have a mission?" she asked. "Yes," one said, "We were part of Team Bravo, but we got shit-stormed by a Reaper Destroyer and a swarm of Husks and Ravagers. So we've been fighting on foot, just keepin' the bastards on their toes." "Works for me," Lawson said. "Mind if I tag along, give you some support?" The marines nodded. "We could always use the extra fire power." One marine came to the front of the group. "I'm Lieutenant Commander Derek Ferrell. I'm leader of this company. Welcome to Bravo." "Thanks" Miranda said as she saluted the Lt. Commander.

Commander… Shepard. She thought of Shepard when hearing the word Commander. How could she not? She missed him. In an instant she remembered his touch, his face. She was infatuated with Shepard. She loved him. A few hours earlier, she was speaking with him over the QEC; just before she prepped for take off. Just a few hours ago. It seemed like days. "Don't say good-bye," he said. "Come find me," she said. It just seemed like days.

The company moved back through the dark alley they came from and into a side door of a building. "Up." Derek ordered. They acknowledged. Some softly whispered, "Hoo-Ah". They were wary, but cautious. Miranda could tell that each soldier had each other's backs. She was beginning to like working for the Alliance. They were much more social and spirited than Cerberus. Cerberus always had her working around the clock, almost never any time to get to know the other men and women. Jacob was an exception. She remembered the first mission they had together. When they met. He wasn't Cerberus at the time. Guess that made him the exception.

As they made their way up to the top of the building, the marine on point stopped at the top of the stairs, in front of the door. He inhaled deeply and broke down the door with his assault rifle. One by one the squad exited the building onto the barren rooftop. Miranda, gun drawn, entered onto the scene. No hostiles. There was an eerie quiet about the air. You could only hear the echo of explosions and the sound of Reaper horns in the distance. As she looked out onto the skyline, she saw dozens of Sovereign class Reaper ships lumbering about the destroyed city. She hated the sight. "Alright, lets make camp, rest up for a few minutes." Derek barked. "Anders, Smalls, you're on look out. Meg, look for a way out of this no mans land. We move in 8, people." Miranda relaxed and sheathed her gun. The other marines sat down on the roof. Some completely flopped over, as if they just finished a 5K run. Miranda looked in the distance. Despite what was going on, she believed that they could win. Maybe it was because her boyfriend was leading the charge against the Reaper bastards. Maybe it was because she had killed over 800 Reaper ground troops since she arrived on Earth. But she knew at least one thing: she believed because Shepard believed.

Another sound. This time it was a humming. Like a strange ominous rumble, and by everyone's confused looks, it wasn't just her hearing it. "Look, up there!" Miranda turned to look at the smoking sky. A blue light shined on her face. Something was happening in the battle above Earth. "What…" she muttered, as the blue light got brighter. One of the marines snapped, "What the hell, it's a nuke! It's a nuke, get the hell down!" Miranda ignored the warning and just stood there, watching the blue light. The marines fled to find cover. Derek called out to her, but ran when he saw the light growing. Miranda stared this light in the face, in awe of the growing lightening storm. As it got closer and closer, she could see it was some sort of pulse. It was sweeping toward her like an electric tsunami. She could only think one thing though. Not a thought of fear entered her mind. She could only think of one man. "Shepard" she whispered. A fuzzy feeling developed on her skin as the blue pulse passed through her like a ghost. She almost thought… for a second it was he. She looked around. She saw the Reaper ships stop moving entirely. It was so quiet. The quiet made her anxious. Then, one ship started to hover off the ground and float upwards, away from earth. Soon, Miranda saw several hundred Reaper ships that were floating up through the atmosphere, leaving earth, ceasing their attacks. She was stunned. Absolutely stunned. They were leaving. Had they won the war? Are they just leaving to regroup? She didn't know what was going on, but Miranda knew that Shepard had something to do with the pulse. She couldn't think of what to say. She let the only words she could conjure fall from her mouth. "Shepard… Shepard you did it."


	3. Chapter 2: Miranda

Chapter 2: Miranda

"And we look forward to working with you, Miss Lawson. The galaxy is a very different place now. We all have a part to play." Admiral Hackett stepped back from the podium and walked to the table positioned to his right. Miranda stood by the podium and looked out at the audience that sat before her. London never looked better. The people were sitting patiently, smiling and supporting Miranda at her induction into the Alliance Military. After the war, she became an asset during the rebuilding process of the Alliance forces. She had helped coordinate the re-colonization of lost colonies, as well as help newly colonize old Cerberus bases, now converted into towns and cities. During this time, the people knew of her work with Shepard, and being in the public eye so much of the time, she became a symbol. A former member of the legendary crew of Commander Shepard helping humanity recuperate was front-page news. Any thing about Shepard was front-page news. She knew that.

Losing him was one of the hardest fights she had with herself. She didn't want to believe that he was gone. She mourned him. She still did. Miranda missed Shepard every second of the day, every day of the week. All she could remember when she heard the official report was how much it pained her. They listed him as MIA. She took it as KIA. She never took death well, especially of loved ones. First Niket, now Shepard. The nights were getting better, at least.

Miranda glanced behind her, at the Citadel beam. It's vibrating hum was a sound of much needed peace. Serenity came to her mind. Then she looked up behind the massive memorial to gaze at two Reaper Destroyers standing guard. They were massive. She didn't like it. She didn't like the idea of these machines, these things that committed atrocities during the war, looming over them. Watching them. Seeing these things always gave her flashbacks. Violent ones, sometimes. A Reaper beam enflaming the ground around her, or a Reaper landing and knocking her to the shaking ground. It was always something that ripped her away from the present moment. They turned so quickly. Until they were observed repairing the Mass Relays, no one actually knew where the Reapers had gone. Some thought they retreated back to dark space. Miranda thought they were just regrouping, having underestimated organic's capabilities in war. But they were rebuilding. In only a year, the Reapers had fixed every Mass Relay, and 3 months after the war when they were discovered, they came back to Earth and helped rebuild the cities. Of course everyone were cautious. But the Reapers were showing no signs of hostility. There was no communication between the organic races and the Reapers. They just came and rebuilt everything. And now, a year and 9 months later, the civilizations of the galaxy gained a silent guardian. Miranda never liked it. She felt like a Quarian.

Admiral Hackett came back to the podium with a pair of medals in his hand. "I hereby award you, Miranda Lawson, with the Medal of Heroism and the Medal of Colonial Service." As he said each medal name he pinned it to her new Alliance Officer uniform. "May you wear them with pride as you face the unknown future alongside your Alliance brothers and sisters. I officially induct you into the Systems Alliance Navy, and grant and proudly burden you with the rank of Admiral. Welcome to the Alliance, Admiral Lawson." After Hackett's speech, the crowd erupted with cheers and applause. Miranda smiled. She hadn't felt this happy in a long time. Hackett leaned over subtlety and whispered to Miranda. "There's still one thing on the agenda today, Miss Lawson." Miranda gave him a confused look. "Sir?" she said. Hackett gave a smirk and got close to the podium again. "And now, the Alliance would like to welcome the Citadel Council to the stage."

Hackett stepped down and went back to his seat. There was a loud hum from the beam. Miranda felt her heart skip a beat and turned to look behind her. The Citadel Council, followed by their personal guard, walked down the stage to the podium. It was comprised of the Asari, Salarian, Turian, and Human councilors. Miranda was stunned. She could only guess at what was about to happen. The Asari councilor stepped up. "Miranda Lawson, step forward." Miranda stepped to the very edge of the stage. She was trembling. "It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel."

The world dropped from Miranda's reality for a few moments. Spectre. Miranda was just granted the position of the only human Spectre. With Shepard's disappearance, as well as Ashley Williams', there were no human Spectre's in the known galaxy. She was in a confused state. On one hand, she was becoming a Spectre, gaining unlimited resources and being able to bypass any law she wanted. But on the other, she was filling the position her love carried with honor. With respect. She loved that about Shepard. He always held the Spectre position as one of the most defining moments of his life. She thought that maybe that's what gave him that fire, that charm, that thing that makes you want to follow him to the edge of darkness and back. She was feeling so many emotions at once. Shepard's face could have calmed her down.

She came back, listening to the councilor's speech again. "Spectre's bear a great burden. They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold." The Turian councilor stepped down, and the Human councilor took the stand. "As we all know, Admiral Lawson was a longtime friend of the first human Spectre, Commander Shepard, and a friend of the second, Lt. Commander Williams. We as a Council believe you are worthy and deserving of this title, not just because of your skill and prowess in battle, but because of our faith in you. We believe you can live up to the ones who came before you, and honor them by paving the way for future Spectres, of all species. Congratulations, Admiral." The crowd burst into a roaring and thundering throng. The audience whooped and hollered, standing in support of their new Spectre. "Just breathe, " thought Miranda, "Wave, smile, and breathe." The Reapers behind the monument hummed. Miranda noticed. It was peaceful. She felt a peace wash over her. As if…

She awoke the next day in her suite. She sat up and looked out at the London skyline. It was beautiful, even with the scattered Reaper ships moving about the city. The Alliance gave her wonderful housing and care after the ceremony, something she never experienced with Cerberus. She got up from her bed and went to shower. Looking at the time, she caught herself midstride. It was 11:12. She was supposed to meet Jacob at 11:45 for coffee and lunch. She hurriedly showered, fixed her hair and face, grabbed some clothes and ran out of her penthouse.

After taking her sky-car personally to the designated coffee shop, she spotted Jacob sitting at an empty table sipping from a small cup. She looked at her omni-tool. 12:00 P.M. She walked as quickly as she could to the empty seat. She hurriedly explained herself. "I am so, so sorry Jacob, I woke up late, there was a party last-" "It's fine!" Jacob interrupted. He chuckled. "Admiral Lawson," He gave her a wink as he continued, "you're a busy woman now. Ain't nothin' to be sorry about. Especially after yesterday." "Oh, yeah," she huffed, "That happened. I'm glad you were able to come. It's nice to see a familiar face nowadays." "Yeah, I get that," he said. "Not a lot of those around here. Saw Jack awhile back, though. Said she was heading back to Grissom after the winter break. Even in space, kids can get off for the holidays." "Yes. I'm sure she's got her hands quite full." Miranda took the holo-menu and placed in her order. "Hey," Jacob got Miranda's attention. "I'm proud of you. For everything you've accomplished. I mean, you brought a dead man back to life, you finally took down your father and saved your sister, and now you're a Spectre! How does that feel?" Miranda looked at the table. She thought about it. Jacob saw she was having trouble. "I'm sorry, I know…" "No," she said as she looked up at him, "it's really fine. I needed an excuse to answer that for myself." She looked back down slightly, then met Jacob's gaze. "I feel like I'm in a maelstrom. Like I'm being tossed from one emotion to the next. I feel honored, proud even, to be taking this position for humanity. But then, I feel empty. Like I'm supposed to do something or know something now that I am a Spectre. Because of… Shepard." Jacob was listening intently. She continued. "And it's not like I'm worried about living up to him. It's just… with us. When the Council came down to present it to me… I wished he could have been there. To see it. To be there with me when they presented. And that I could learn from him, with him. Be with him…" Tears began to slowly well up in Miranda's eyes. Jacob took her hand. "Miranda. Your love for him will always be great. I am sure that wherever he is, he's proud of you. And he is watchin' over you. As a brother to you, I want to say that you are so capable and determined that I know you will carve a path for yourself. Only you will act upon your future. And you can still learn from him." "I know," Miranda squeezed Jacob's hand tightly, and then released it.

"Thank you, Jacob. I needed that. I also really needed to take some time off from work." "No problem," Jacob said. "It's nice to catch up. Been awhile. How's Oriana?" "She's good. Great in fact," said Miranda, "she got into Yale University back in the states. She said she wasn't a 'Harvard girl'." "Ha, I believe it," laughed Jacob. "She's like you, but so different." A waiter appeared with Miranda's coffee order. "Thank you," she said as she tipped the waiter. She looked back to Jacob. "Yeah, I like it too. But she always gets in my head. She always knows what I would do in any situation. Sometimes when she doesn't come to me when she's in a bad place, I have to remember that she's probably already considered my answer without me even giving it." Jacob laughed as Miranda took a sip of her green chai tea. She started too ask him the questions. "How are you and Brynn? And my lovely godson?" "We're good," he stated, "Brynn is on the other side of the Earth right now sorting out some Alliance business in the America's and John's still growin'. He's two now." "That's right, it was his birthday recently, wasn't it? Sorry I missed it, I'll be sure to send a nice gift your way." Jacob laughed at Miranda's comment. "It's ok, no need. He's got a ways to go before he can appreciate what's he's got. Like an excellent godmother." Jacob toasted to Miranda and took a swig of coffee. Miranda laughed, "Well thank you. I try."

She took another sip of tea. Her mind wandered back to Shepard. "Ever wonder where they went, Jacob? The Normandy?" Jacob put his drink down. "Ya know, I do. It didn't get destroyed, as far as we're concerned. No recovery team has recovered the ships remains. It's like they up and vanished." Miranda pondered. "I just can't believe that the Normandy would leave the fight like that. Especially that fight." "Yea," Jacob put his elbows on the table and his hands under his chin. "I heard all of Shepard's crew got picked up during the fight here. Garrus, Tali, James, everybody." "Yeah? " Miranda questioned. "Yeah," Jacob confirmed. "Heard it on the front-lines . You wouldn't think word would spread in a warzone. But, then again, when some one sees the Normandy drop and make a quick pick up run in the middle of the battlefield for just one or two people, one takes notice."

Miranda turned to look into the road. Some sky-cars flew by. She was thinking. "Oriana is coming back home soon. She'll start studying abroad here and stay with me." Jacob smiled. "That's great, sounds like you two will have a good time!" "Yeah," Miranda said, "it will give us time to… bond. I know we're not done here, but promise to keep in touch, Jacob. Will you do that for me?" "Of course," Jacob said, "Just hit me up. Maybe I take you girls out for a night on the town when Brynn gets back. It'll be fun" "Of course," Miranda said as she smiled. "But before that," she thought to herself, "I'll be doing a little digging."


	4. Chapter 3: Jacob

Chapter 3: Jacob

"Ha-Ha, and then he threw it back behind Gardner into the trash when he wasn't lookin'!" Jacob said as he walked down to the sky-lot with Miranda. "No! Thane? Really? That doesn't sound like him." Miranda claimed. "It's true," Jacob said, "Saw it with my own eyes. Mordin and I were sitting at the mess table when it happened. You didn't even know he threw the bread until you saw it in the air!" "But why wouldn't he like bread?" Miranda asked. "Of all the foods Gardner made on the Normandy, his bread was far from the worst." "Maybe it wasn't for the Drell palate." Jacob stopped when they reached Miranda's car. "Remember Thane always liked Gardner's infamous gumbo before Shepard brought in those food provisions, while the rest of us thought it tasted shit!" Jacob and Miranda both broke out into laughter upon remembering that horrid taste. Miranda settled down. "Ah yes. Yet despite every horrible dish, Gardner was a good man. It's a shame he got taken…" "That was then," Jacob said. "His sacrifice was not in vain." "Yeah," said Miranda, "I know. Thanks for inviting me this afternoon Jacob. Remember, please keep in touch." Jacob moved to give her a hug. "Of course," he said as they embraced, "I'll keep ya posted." "Alright," Miranda said.

She popped the door of her sky-car. "See you soon, Jacob." "See ya soon, Miranda," He gave her a salute. "Or should I say Admiral? Spectre?" She saluted him back, laughing, "Yeah, I need to get used to that. Very soon. Good-bye Jacob. I'll contact you soon." As Miranda stepped into the car, Jacob stepped back a little bit. "Aight, stay safe," he said. She gave him a smirk. Her car door locked itself back into place and hovered off the ground.

Jacob waved and watched as Miranda flew off into the fray of sky-cars. He walked off to get to his car that was across the sky-lot. He started thinking about what he and Miranda talked about that afternoon. About the Normandy. It was weird, in his mind, for the Normandy to leave at all. It just seemed out of character. Did they know about the pulse the Crucible sent out? When he received word that the Normandy left with it's crew, it was about 20 minutes before the Crucible fired. He always remember the moment before it did. He was facing down a Brute that had him cornered in an old back-lot, and just as he thought he was out of the game, the pulse went off. He remembered how the Brute was so close to smashing his face in when, in an instant, it just stopped and lumbered off. Like it just had an off switch.

Jacob unlocked his sky-car and stepped in. Turning on the ignition and pulling it out of his parking spot, Jacob put it in drive and flew into the ongoing traffic. As he drove, Jacob looked out at the giant Reaper ship standing guard to his left. It was massive, filling up his entire left window. Despite Jacob's feelings toward the Reapers, he was grateful for their aid now. There was something about them fixing everything and guarding everyone that almost made him want to forget the horrible things they did in the war. He still hated them, but now they were allies. He felt a hell of a lot safer; no denying that.

He drove on. Jacob looked at his old Corsair dog tags hanging from his mirror. His new ones hung proudly from his neck. He was happy to be back in the Alliance Navy, but even happier that he wasn't working as a Corsair anymore. Hackett rewarded his actions against Cerberus during the Reaper war with the rank of 1st Lieutenant, and a place in Hackett's personal security squad. Jacob admired Hackett a great deal. He liked the idea of this old war veteran leading the men and women of the Alliance into a brave new future. If Hackett were to run for Prime Minister of the Alliance, he would personally hold a fundraiser for the man, for whatever good it would do. He didn't know a lot of politicians but he did know a good amount of soldiers who would do the same for Hackett in a heartbeat.

Jacob suddenly remembered something. "Oh, gotta call Brynn." He pulled up his contacts on his sky-car console and located Brynn. He punched in a code. Soon, Brynn's voice came on in the car. "Hello?" "It's me." Jacob said. Brynn's voiced became lighter and sounded happier. "Hey baby." Jacob could hear her smile through the call. "How're you, hun? How are things in the Big City?" "It's getting better," she replied. "The lab they have us working in has a great view of Central Park." Jacob smiled. "Bet that's a sight." "Yeah," she said, "Anyways, the Alliance now wants me to coordinate with the Turian hierarchy to start working on a new Frigate design. One that requires massive amounts of eezo and uses a prototype mass effect field generator based on Reaper tech." Jacob took a left turn out of the busy flock of sky-cars. "Damn," Jacob said. "Reaper tech. 'Bout time we started using it, now that it's actually safe." "Yes, I think we should've started using whatever amount of Reaper tech we had during the war," Brynn continued as Jacob took a right, then a left and descended to a ground level, "If we had used some against them, I wonder if things would be different. But I guess it wouldn't have mattered, considering what the Crucible did." Jacob agreed with her. "Yeah, maybe there would be less of them protecting us. Doesn't matter. But I'm glad to hear you're doing good work, hun."

"Wanted to know something else." Jacob had been planning something for his family for a while now. He entered an area filled with old style houses. "Yes, of course dear," she replied, "what is it?" "Thessia is becoming a major hot spot for tourists. How would you like to take a trip there when you get some time off? The whole family?" She squealed over the phone. "Oh, you've been planning this haven't you? You know I've always wanted to visit! Yes, of course I want to go. It'll be a great treat for John, too. Thank you, dear." Jacob was beaming with pride. He loved surprising her like that. "Anything for you, Brynn." "Jacob Taylor," Brynn said his name with a longing. "You're too good to me," she teased. "Always will be," Jacob replied.

Jacob took a back way to Admiral Hackett's steading in London, a large mansion based on the famous Stowe House, but a little more modern and painted a bright white. He drove up the driveway and parked his car in front of the main door where a driver was moving to valet his car. "Alright Brynn," he said, "I've gotta go. Duty calls." "Of course dear. Call soon?" Brynn asked. Jacob missed her too. "Always," he said with a smile, "Be safe, love," "You too," she said. Jacob hung up the call and greeted the driver. "Good day Lieutenant Taylor," said the man, " may I take your car to the garage?" Jacob gave him his keys. "As always, Gil. Thanks." Gil took the keys smiling. "It's a pleasure, sir." Jacob went through the main door, listening to his sky-car drive down the road away from him. He walked up the flight of stairs and took a right down a long corridor toward the double-doors at the end. The two guards standing at attention at the door saluted him. He gave them a salute as he passed through the doors into Hackett's office. It resembled the Oval office in the White House, except the window was to Jacob's left and the U.S. seal wasn't on the floor. The coloring of the room was Alliance blue with a faded brown and yellow.

Admiral Hackett was sitting at his desk, signing some papers. Jacob saluted him. "Sir, I'm ready to receive that assignment you messaged me about, sir." Hackett looked up. He finished scribbling a few lines of text and put the papers to the side. "Yes of course. Thank you for coming so quickly, Lieutenant." Jacob dropped his salute. "Anytime, sir."

Hackett stood and wandered to the window. "Jacob I called you here for more than an assignment. There's a reason I put you on my personal guard, and it was for more than your good aim with a pistol." Jacob listened. He was curious. Hackett continued. "I remember that the Alliance took your father into custody for, in lack of better terms, conduct unbecoming. I also know you two were not on the best of terms." "You could say that," Jacob said. "Well," Hackett said as he turned to face Jacob, "he has something I need. And he won't talk to my men. I want you to go to him, and get him to tell you where the List of Forbidden Relay's is." "The List of Forbidden Relay's, sir?" Jacob questioned.

Hackett turned back to face the window. "Your father, Ronald Taylor, was serving on the Hugo Gernsback, as you recall, and its mission was to explore uncharted space." Hackett paused. "He also was personally in charge of carrying a list of forbidden Mass Relays that led to uncharted space. That list was in Alliance possession, and until your father turned up, we were not concerned with it's whereabouts. Considering how brutal our war with the Reapers was, I don't want us getting blind-sided by anything else. It's time to push our boarders. For all species to expand." Jacob understood. "Where is he being held?" he asked. "Kyne Station. Your father was lucky. Kyne Station is deep underground. The Reapers invasion was so quick that they didn't have time to double-check their harvest. Kyne Station is located in Mongolia. Get there as soon as you can, and report back to me when you have the location. This is important, Lieutenant. Consider it your top priority." Hackett handed Jacob a file filled with information on his father, Kyne Station, and few other pages of information. "Of course, sir. I'll get on it."

Jacob saluted Hackett, turned and exited. The Admiral just threw an emotional wrench into Jacob's gears. He had cut ties with his father after Shepard helped recover him during his Cerberus days. Now he had to face his father again, this time as an officer to a criminal. He had no doubt his father would speak to him. He just didn't want to speak to his father.


	5. Chapter 4: Miranda

Chapter 4: Miranda

No match. She tried again. No match. Miranda boiled with frustration. 3 days had gone by since she talked with Jacob, and during this time she had been searching for clues as to where the Normandy went after the Battle for Earth. Miranda furiously typed into her console, "Ship disappearances since 2186." She found some matches, but each was of a cargo vessel or transport ship. None of the searches yielded any results on the Normandy, or anything similar to it. Miranda groaned, got up and went to fix a drink. She knew it was still out there. After speaking with Jacob, she gained a new sense of faith. She believed that it was out there, somewhere in the galaxy. She didn't know if it was destroyed or if her friends were still on it, or even alive. But she believed.

She took a sip of her newly made spiced brandy drink and moved to her living room couch. She needed to rest, catch her breath. One thing that the Alliance taught her is to never rush crucial and important work. Always work at your best, no less than that. Normally, for Miranda, that was all the time. But this was eating away at her. Her obsession to find Shepard again, to know if he made it, was driving her. And it was hurting her, too. She wasn't going mad. But her actions were making her emotionally unstable. Looking out a window and relaxing on her luxury couch while drinking a cold beverage made it all better, at least for the time being.

It was sunset. She looked at her wall clock. 5:58 P.M. She thought it interesting that the sun began to set at 5:58. "Another drink," she thought. "Then I'll get back to work." She got up and poured another spiced brandy. She walked to the window and looked down. Her penthouse must have been over 40 stories high above the ground. Heights were never a huge thing with Miranda. In fact she loved skydiving and flying. That's why she opted to fly fighters during the Reaper war. She liked the adrenaline. She liked the feeling as you flew through the air, ripping apart the sound barrier when hitting super sonic speeds. It was, in a way, a fetish for her.

Having rested, she walked back to her console, sat down, and tried to figure out what could have the answers she was looking for. She looked up Shepard's file in the Alliance records. Nothing was in it that she didn't already know. His dossier, military background, family background, and career highlights like the Battle of Elysium, Saren's defeat, and of course the Reaper war. She scoured his file, looking for any clues. She gave up and looked up the Normandy's file. Everything from the SR1 and SR2 showed up on her console. Nothing, however, was relevant to its current whereabouts. "Dead end," she thought. That was it. The Alliance had nothing on Shepard or the Normandy. Everything was either pretty common knowledge or… Miranda paused. The Alliance had nothing. The Alliance. She got up, took her coat and hurried out the door.

She stood in front of the Citadel beam, it's low hum calming her. It was peaceful despite it's previous purpose of sending living or dead humans up to be harvest by the Reapers. Now, it was the fasted land-to-space device out there. It was busy. People were exiting and entering the beam, trying to make it work or just casually taking a trip up, all sorts of people to. Off duty C-sec agents, clubbers, families, tourists. Miranda wondered how the Alliance was able to rent this space for her induction ceremony. Then again, it wasn't just the Alliance induction. Perhaps her Spectre ceremony was the reason.

She took a deep breath and walked into the beam. Instantly, she walked onto the loading bay of the Citadel. It was almost busier than the entrance. There were flashing lights, zooming sky-cars, and people hustling and bustling just trying to get to their destination. There were more alien species here than on Earth, but the same amount of humans as well.

Remembering her purpose, Miranda headed towards the elevator. She got in and took it up to the Citadel Embassies. As the doors closed she looked at the people around her. She saw an asari talking into her communicator, possibly speaking to an old friend or loved one. Looking to her right she saw two figures: a turian and a quarian. The quarian was sifting through some papers of his while the turian was looking around like her. They met eyes for a split second and she looked back in front. To her right was another human, who seemed anxious. She had a worried look on her face. Miranda turned to face the doors. They opened.

Upon exiting she quickly walked to her right towards a stairway. When she reached the stairway she slowed down. It was quieter here, with less people crowding the areas. When she got to the top she saw her destination down the long hallway. The Spectre offices. If the Alliance didn't have any information of the Normandy and Shepard, perhaps the Spectres did. She got to the doorway and entered a passcode. An electronic voice came on the intercom. "Lawson, Human, Spectre status recognized." Miranda liked the sound of that. She head down the hallway towards a series of consoles and computers. The hall was dimly lit and glossy, with a dark floor. The main chamber held the live firing range to Miranda's right and a QEC to her left. Someone was using the firing range, but she couldn't tell who it was. A salarian, by the looks of it.

Miranda walked up to the console and started searching. She started with ship disappearances. There were some articles on the Normandy, but only stating that it was MIA, and presumed destroyed in the battle. She thought to herself for a second, and then pulled up Shepard's file. A hologram of him appeared along with his information. The words K.I.A. flashed in front of his hologram. Miranda cringed. She quickly opened the file and started reading. His missions started popping up. Therum, Noveria, Feros, Virmire, Ilos, they were all here. And then his Cerberus files showed up, with missions Miranda herself personally scanned in. From Freedom's Progress to Horizon to the Collector Base. "God," she muttered under her breath. She remembered each of these missions.

Then, something caught her attention. A file labeled, "The Reaper War". She pulled it up. It contained every detail about his campaign against the Reapers. And it was as if the missions were not just his, but of the whole crew of the Normandy. Like the Normandy drew them up. "EDI," she thought. Maybe EDI… she couldn't have written these, Shepard always wanted to write them himself. Scrolling through the list of mission reports, Miranda saw one at the bottom that was titled, "Earth." She opened it. It discussed the first contact Shepard made when arriving on Earth. He diverted to destroying a Reaper with a Hades Cannon strapped down to it's back when the team responsible for taking it out was shot down. Lieutenant Steve Cortez was shot down but managed to make it out of the wreck, while Shepard fought to get to the downed shuttle. He fired a Cain round into the Reaper and took it down, but was swarmed by enemy troops. He was then picked up by Admiral Anderson, who took him and his squad to base camp.

The door to the firing range opened. She stopped reading and hid Shepard's file. The salarian using the range looked up. "Ah, Lawson! Our newest member." He sounded chipper. "Yes, I'm Admiral Lawson." Miranda stretched her arm out to shake his hand. "You are?" she asked. He took her hand. "Jondom Bau, STG. It's nice to finally meet you, Admiral." He looked at the screen Miranda was using. "Getting settled in, or just looking for work?" Miranda hesitated, but figured if these files were accessible to Spectres, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for her to be looking at them. "I was… reading. Specifically Commander Shepard's file. He was… a very good friend to me. I'm just seeing what his file had." Bau understood. "Shepard was a good man," he said, "I remember working with him, during the war in fact. He helped me stop an indoctrinated hanar from uploading a virus the would've shut down Kahje's global defenses." "Really?" Miranda remarked. "Yes," Bau answered, "I was tipped off that one of hanar diplomats was indoctrinated by a thief named Kasumi Goto, and given Shepard's history with Reapers, I sent him a message asking for his help."

Miranda noted Kasumi's involvement. Miranda respected Kasumi, even if she was a thief. Kasumi had an honor about her. She stole for herself, but she always stole for others first. Even if she weren't being paid, Kasumi would steal an apple for a poor child in the streets. She had a good heart.

"The best part of the operation," Bau continued, "was that I learned Kasumi and Shepard had worked together. When we confronted the hanar, we ran into some trouble when one of his guards tried to kill me. Kasumi appeared and deactivated the virus' signal while Shepard helped me with the guard." "Wow," Miranda said, "though I'm not surprised. Shepard always came prepared. Even if his back up plan involves someone else." Bau nodded in agreement. "Unfortunately I was unable to thank Kasumi personally, as the console she was hacking had a fail safe, and she died in an explosion." Miranda was caught off guard. She had seen Kasumi about a year ago, when the remaining members of the Normandy came to Shepard's private funeral. She then realized that maybe Bau wasn't meant to know she was alive. "That's a shame," Miranda stated, "I knew Kasumi too. She served with us on Shepard's mission to destroy the Collectors." Bau was surprised. "You knew her as well? Hm, Small galaxy, isn't it?" Miranda laughed a little, "Yes, it is."

Bau started to leave. "Well, I've got to go. It was nice speaking with you Admiral Lawson. Let me know if you ever need help with anything. A friendly Spectre is always nice to have around." "Of course," Miranda replied, "I'll be sure to let you know. Good meeting you Bau." She nodded. Bau nodded likewise and headed for the door.

Miranda returned her attention to Shepard's file. Pulling the file "Earth" back up, a description of the endgame plan was given, but there was no report. They needed to get past a Reaper Destroyer in order to get to the Citadel beam, but there was no record of whether or not they completed the mission. Underneath this description, there was a line. Miranda thought that curious, as the other reports had no line underneath it. Running her hand over the line made it light up red. She tried moving it. It flew up in front of her. Like an ancient scroll, she tried to pull down the line to see if it hid text. The line just flashed red, this time flashing the words, "Access Denied" above it. This put Miranda on edge. Why was the last report in Shepard's file protected? And how could she get in. She downloaded Shepard's file to her omni-tool. She then looked up files on the Normandy. When she found it's main file, she scrolled through its missions and information until she hit the bottom. There was the exact same line drawn underneath Normandy's last report.

She downloaded the file to her omni-tool and rushed back down the hallway and out the door. She sped down the hallway with purpose. She was sort of flustered. Something was being hidden about Shepard's demise, or lack thereof. She headed for the elevator and took it down to the loading bay. After exiting she walked to the exit ramp that headed toward the beam.

"Miranda!" a familiar voice called. Miranda turned to see none other than Jacob running over to meet her. "Jacob!" she exclaimed, "What are you doing here?" Jacob slowed to a stop in front of her. "Got an assignment from Hackett. It's about my father." Miranda knew what that meant. She remembered when she found the Hugo Gernsback's distress beacon and sent it anonymously to Jacob. "What's happened?" she asked. "Nothing," he replied, "my father isn't 'cooperating' with the authorities on a sensitive matter. Hackett wants me to talk to him." He hung his head. "I'm not sure I can even face him."

Miranda remembered a promise she kept to Jacob, a long time ago. This business with Shepard was important. But she had time for a friend. "Let me come," she said, "You know I can interrogate like a champ. And I'll have your back." Jacob looked up in surprise. "Really? You'll drop everything you're doing and just come with me?" Miranda laughed. "Jacob, of course! You're my friend. And, in case you've forgotten, I'm a Spectre now. I can do whatever I want. Plus that bit of information might get your father to talk to us." Jacob chuckled. "Not too worried about him refusing to talk to me, but… thanks. That means a lot, Miranda." Miranda put her hand on his shoulder. "Anytime, Jacob." She took her hand off and started thinking. "So… where is it we're going? And what does Hackett want with your father?" "Mongolia," Jacob said, "and something called the List of Forbidden Relay's." "Forbidden Relay's? You're father plays into this how?" Jacob activated his omni-tool and peered down into the other loading docks. "It's a long story," he said, "I can tell you on the way. For now, we have a ship to catch."


	6. Chapter 5: Jacob

Chapter 5: Jacob

The shuttle's thrusters buffered to a halt. Jacob felt the weight of the ship slowly descend onto the concrete. Reminded him of every time he and Shepard were dropped off for a mission during their Cerberus days. "Well," he said, looking over to Miranda, "we're here." They got up as the shuttle's doors opened and walked out onto the concrete. "So this is Mongolia," Miranda was wide-eyed. She looked around at the decorative walls and potted plants dotting the corners of the shuttle-port. "It's nicer than I expected," she stated as they started off. "Yea," Jacob said. They walked down a long corridor went down two escalators. As they entered the main entrance chamber, Jacob saw that there were sky-cars waiting outside. "I think it's one of these," Jacob said, "Come on."

They headed over to the sky-lot to look for their rental car. "Jacob!" Miranda yelled, "I think this is ours." Jacob walked over to the car. The driver in front was in an Alliance Officer uniform and the car was completely blacked out. "Lt. Taylor?" the driver asked, directly to Jacob. "Yes, that's me." The driver saluted Jacob, who gave a salute back. He looked over at Miranda. "Admiral Lawson, ma'am," He gave a stern salute to Miranda, "I didn't know you were coming ma'am." Miranda gave the driver a salute, "It's fine, I'm coming along as a favor to Jacob." The driver nodded in understanding, then popped open the sky-car. Jacob and Miranda got in the back seat while the driver closed their doors and went up front. He got in and the sky-car lifted off the ground. "We'll be at Kyne Station in an hour sir," the driver said to Jacob. "Ok," Jacob said, "Thank you." The driver nodded then hit a switch. A divider came between the front and back seats.

"Well," Miranda said, "Kyne Station, hm?" "Yeah," Jacob huffed. "You heard of it?" "Yes, in fact," Miranda replied. "When we were in Cerberus, there were stories of people who got caught by the Alliance. The Alliance sent them to Kyne Station. Normally it was anyone who did some terrorist act, or hurt Alliance projects. It wasn't the big leagues. You wouldn't find the Illusive Man there." Jacob smirked. He thought the idea of the Alliance holding the Illusive Man hostage was a joke. If it were up to him, he'd put a bullet in his head before the Alliance could have their say. He remembered him as an idol. Realizing your boss is indoctrinated can make you rethink you source of employment.

He looked the window. There was a Reaper capital ship off in the distance. "Huh, thought the Reapers only stayed in the larger parts of the world." Jacob looked at Miranda. "I guess one in Mongolia isn't too weird." Miranda shrugged. Jacob looked back. He knew Miranda didn't like the Reapers. Talking about the Reapers with Miranda was like asking a picky child to eat their food. She simply would talk around the idea, or just outright ignore it. He had to admit, though, that their sudden change of heart was disconcerting at first. But after they helped rebuild, helped protect the people, he too had a change of heart. It wasn't a change where he fully trusted the Reapers, but he at least acknowledged their presence and accepted the fact that they weren't attacking anymore.

"I'm surprised your father hasn't received a trial," Miranda said. Jacob turned to face her. "Yeah, he was lucky. The Reapers stalled his trial. His problems will eventually come back to bite him in the ass, though. And we aren't the worst of em." Jacob looked down. "Miranda… My father was a good man. I don't understand why he would just… do what he did. It haunts me, all the time." Miranda put a hand on Jacob's knee. "He made the wrong choice. That's his burden, not yours," she said. Jacob looked back up. "Yeah?" he asked, "Then why is it always looming over my shoulder like some dark cloud?" "Because you allow it too," Miranda answered. Jacob was aware of that. She was right. Jacob always carried this thing about his father with him. "Well," he said, "let's hope we can get rid of this cloud."

The sky-car pulled up to Kyne Station. It was just this bunker sticking out of the ground with two guards out front. The sky-car popped open and the driver ran around to help Miranda out of the car. Jacob got out and looked at the entrance. He knew his father was in there. They walked to the guards and saluted them. "Lt. Jacob Taylor, requesting to speak with prisoner 29405." He dropped his stance. The guards nodded and one went to open the door. The remaining guard looked at Miranda and instantly recognized her. "Admiral Lawson, ma'am," he saluted, "I wasn't aware you were coming down here as well." "I'm here on Spectre business, actually," she said as she looked at Jacob. "Of course ma'am."

The entrance opened with a metallic clang, and the guards went back to their posts. Miranda and Jacob walked inside the compound. It was just an elevator. Jacob looked at the omni-pad. "It's level D we're looking for… ah, here." He found the button and pressed it. The doors slammed shut and down they went. Jacob was still. He was on edge, yet relaxed. He just stared at the elevator doors. He wanted to rip them open. The elevator stopped. The doors opened. Jacob walked out into an open cellblock with what seemed to be thousands of cells leading down the hall. "He's in cell D29405," Jacob said, "Let's start walkin'."

Miranda followed closely behind, stunned at the condition of prisoners. Some were being escorted around, while most were in their cells. They were mostly old men, and they looked unhappy. Their faces were those of men and women who have dark secrets they carry with them. "Remember when we picked up Jack during suicide mission?" Miranda asked. "Yeah," Jacob answered. "The prison ship she was on had more cells, but the prisoners were… well they seemed more dangerous. These don't look like killers of any kind." Jacob kept walking. His father was worse than a killer.

They finally made it to his cell. Jacob took a deep breath and stepped up to the glass. His father was sleeping on his cot. The sight of him put Jacob in a fixed state. He couldn't move, couldn't speak. He could only glare at the man sleeping in the cot. He was thinner than Jacob remembered. Miranda saw Jacob wasn't doing anything. She walked up next to him, the turned and tapped on the glass. "Ronald Taylor?" she asked. Ronald stirred, and groggily looked up from his sleep. His face turned pale. "Your son needs to talk to you."

Ronald sat at the interrogation table across from Jacob and Miranda. Jacob was still. Ronald couldn't look him in the eye. "So," he asked Jacob, "Are you here about the list?" Jacob was still. Ronald continued, "They've sent others down here. To interrogate me. I can't imagine any other reason you would want to see me… You made it clear…" Jacob's hand slammed against the table. Ronald jumped. Miranda looked at Jacob's fist, then at Jacob. Jacob took his hand off the table. There was an indent. "We don't talk about that here," he said through his teeth. "This… this is business. I don't want a word about what you're here for, understand?" Ronald looked ashamed. "Yes," he said with a sigh. Jacob relaxed a bit. "Where is it, Ronald? And why have you not said anything to the Alliance?" Ronald was too defeated to answer. Jacob got up. "Ronald. Ronald Taylor?" Jacob was getting hurriedly impatient. "DAD!" he screamed. He didn't want to call this man that title. Miranda closed her eyes. Ronald looked up at his son. "Where did you hide the list?" "I can't tell you without explaining myself to you, Jacob. I just can't."

Jacob didn't like this. He walked to the back of the room. "Ronald," Miranda asked, "Why can't you tell Jacob where the list is?" "Because it involves the Gernsback," he said, "and what happened after we crashed. It involves everything that he doesn't want to hear about. Jacob, please!" His father was on his last legs. Jacob knew that. Taking in a deep breath, Jacob walked back to the table. He was collected. "Fine," he said as he sat back down, "explain yourself." His father sat up a bit. "He better be straight with me," Jacob thought.

Ronald Taylor began to speak. "You know about what happened. My officers turning against me, the toxic food, everything I did… if I could take it all back I would." Jacob scoffed. His father looked at him, disheartened. "When I realized what was happening I… changed. The planet turned me. I keep telling you it wasn't me, and I know you don't listen but it's true. That planet is alive, and it makes you think hypnotic and dreadful thoughts." Jacob boiled. "Do you have proof of this?" His father leaned in to meet his son's gaze. "I do." Jacob looked at Miranda. He wanted her to take over for a bit. Jacob just wanted to listen. "Ok, Ronald," Miranda said, "what happened on after the crash that you didn't tell Jacob?"

Jacob's father paused before going on. "It was our plan, at first. Gather food for the survivors, and try to live off the land as much as we could. That way we wouldn't waste out the rations before help could arrive. Then, one of my men brought back this odd fruit. We all tried it. I didn't think much of it at first, but then, something happened, Jacob. I woke up one day and couldn't remember the crash. Or the food gathering. I just woke up as leader, and everyone else was intoxicated or driven mad." "Bullshit," Jacob interrupted, "you couldn't remember anything. Was the story you told me on that rock a lie, too?" "Jacob," his father pleaded, "just listen, son." Jacob snapped. "Don't you call me that, scum!" he yelled, jumping from his seat. He started glowing blue, his biotics beginning to get out of hand. "I stopped being your son after I found you on that planet devolving your crew and killing your men! You stopped being my father when you decided to play Lord of the Flies with the people who trusted you! Don't you ever call me that again! You hear me?! Don't you-" Miranda intervened. "Jacob, look at me." Jacob's biotics stopped and he looked at Miranda. "Don't get angry. Just listen. Then we can leave." Jacob inhaled, looked at his father, then sat back down.

"Continue, Mr. Taylor," Miranda asked. Ronald was shaken to his core, but he kept going. "I… as I said, I didn't remember anything. Then something whispered to me. A great whisper, and I followed it into the jungle." He paused; obviously something was eating away at him. "It called itself… The Thorian." Miranda knew something. "I know that name. Cerberus had some cells working on Thorian minions, people mutated to husk-like beings. I thought there was only one." "Well," Ronald said, "there's another. And it wanted to keep the crew under its control. I threatened it, but it said if I did anything to it, warned the crew or any one out in near space, it would kill them all with a thought." Jacob didn't want to believe his father was innocent. "Why didn't you tell us when Shepard and I came and got you? We could've killed it. And why didn't it try to kill us there?" Ronald was flustered. "The years went by. It was fuzzy, and I don't remember exactly what happened in between the crash and the beginning of my enthrallment. But one day it called me to its den. It said we were free to go. It told me to find a way off the planet. That's when I activated the beacon. It released all of the crew and sent me away. It wanted to send us away, like it no longer required us. It's spores, the food we ate, still had it's side effects. But it's control just… left us. No one but me knew about it, though. I was the only one it spoke to."

Jacob leaned back in his seat. "Ok. So you were controlled. Maybe I believe you. Maybe I don't. But even if you were, that doesn't tell us were you hid the List of Forbidden Relay's." Jacob's father took a moment to think, then looked at Jacob. "I gave it to The Thorian." "What?" Jacob asked. Ronald was fumbling with his words. "It asked for the map, like it knew we had it. I didn't think much use to the creature, so I gave it to it. It was the first thing it asked for." Miranda was confused. "Why would a plant-organism want a map of relays that lead to dark space?" Ronald answered quickly. "I don't know. The map is with the Thorian. It's deep in the jungle. I don't know what it wanted with the map, but it asked for it so I gave it to it. I'm sorry, there's nothing else for me to tell you."

Jacob felt like his father was in turmoil. He wanted to care about him, but he just couldn't. "I'll report this back to Hackett. Maybe you're telling the truth." Something in Jacob forced him to give his father some hope. "And if you're right… I'm sorry about what happened." His father brightened up. Jacob just looked away and walked out of the room. He heard Miranda speak to his father, "Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Taylor." Miranda walked out to meet Jacob. The door slammed shut behind them. "A Thorian? My father controlled? What is this bullshit, Miranda?" Jacob was in a state of confusion. "Jacob," Miranda said, trying to calm him down, "your father couldn't have known what a Thorian is, there's no way. That creature was under top security files in Cerberus, and in even stricter security measures in the Alliance. It's not common knowledge." Jacob didn't budge. "Shepard even spoke to one, and the one he talked about had the same abilities your father just described in the room." Jacob looked away. Miranda turned him back around to her. "I don't know what it wants with a list of relay's, but I think your father is telling the truth about this."

Jacob took a deep breath. Everything he knew about Ronald Taylor was crumbling down again. His father was a decent man before his rediscovery. Jacob demonized him after finding him, and now that all this is happening… If his father was telling the truth, Jacob wouldn't know how he could forgive himself for shaming his father like he had for all this time. If he wasn't, he wouldn't know what to believe anymore. Jacob calmed down and started back to the elevator. "Come on," he said, "let's report back to Hackett. I've had enough of this place."


	7. Chapter 6: Miranda

Chapter 6: Miranda

Hackett's cigar smoked in his ashtray. Miranda watched as he flicked off the ashes and laid it in the pile of previously used cigars. Hackett was always cool when it came to tense situations, and with Jacob relaying the report from Kyne Station it was pretty tense. He was pacing about the room. "I think he's playing us, sir. I mean, a Thorian?" Jacob was pretty livid about the whole situation. Miranda understood. They both had father issues.

"Jacob, fall in. Now." Hackett ordered. Jacob stopped pacing and immediately stood at attention. "Sir, yes sir!" Jacob barked. Hackett got up from his desk and walked around to it's front. "Admiral Lawson, I appreciate you going along with Jacob to receive this report. It's obvious he needed to moral support." "Of course, sir," Miranda said. Hackett turned his attention to Jacob. "Lt. Taylor, I understand your feelings about your father, but I believe him." The Admiral walked to his window and looked out. "Back when Shepard got your father off Aeia, we rounded up the survivors of the Gernsback and sent them to stations used for re-habilitation and cognitive development," he began. Miranda listened intently. "They were cared for," Hackett continued, "and reports from the stations seemed nominal. The people were coming back to reality." He paused and turned to face the pair. "But soon, there were reports of deaths coming in form every station. The survivors were dying of their own intelligence. Then, the Reapers showed up." Hackett coughed and went to his desk to take a sip of some water he had poured earlier. "Figures the Alliance kept some problems under wraps when the Reapers arrived," thought Lawson. What could they be hiding about Shepard, though?

Hackett moved on. "We sent a squad to one of the stations that hadn't been attacked by Reaper forces. They said they encountered Husks of some kind there. They were… different though. Reports say they were slower, non-robotic, and their skin was a vile green color." Miranda knew what that meant. From Shepard's accounts of The Thorian's slave Husks, Hackett's description matched his. "They managed to clear out the station," Hackett said, "But the creatures were there in numbers. And there were no reports of any humans on board. Just those things. Now, if you remember, Shepard had a run-in with The Thorian when he first became captain of the Normandy back in 2183. His report of the encounter of Feros described humans that were turned into green husk-like creatures, the same described by my men who cleared out that station." He looked Jacob in the eyes. "So Lieutenant, I would appreciate it if you would put your personal feelings aside and consider that maybe your father was indeed under Thorian control." "Yes sir." Jacob was a good soldier, Miranda thought. She admired how he could take anything from anyone and still stay as strong as an ox. He didn't flinch. He just stood at attention, and seemed to understand.

Hackett went back to his desk. As he sat he addressed Miranda. "Admiral, I know that you and the Lieutenant served with Shepard when the Normandy was under Cerberus control…" Bringing up Shepard and the Normandy reminded Miranda of the files she found. She instantly became anxious, and interrupted the Admiral. "Yes, and sir I'd like-" Hackett held up his hand, asking for her to wait. She stopped and stepped back a little. Hackett pulled up some articles Miranda recognized. They were the ones she was looking into before going to the Spectre office. "I noticed you've been taking an interest in ship disappearances, particularly the recent ones. You specifically searched for any information on the Normandy…" Hackett said, but stopped. Miranda looked unsettled. "Don't worry," the Admiral said reassuringly, "I'm not bugging your office. I personally get notified if anything about the Normandy is looked up in the Alliance Data Archives. I also get notified if anything related to Commander Shepard is looked up."

Miranda was very unsettled now. She wanted to just ask him about the files from the Spectre terminal. Hackett began speaking to her again but she couldn't hear him. All she could hear was a ringing, a knocking in her head just wanting answers to her questions. She couldn't take it anymore. "Sir," she said frustratingly, "I've been wanting to come and talk to you about something I found and with all this coming up about my recent endeavors, I think I deserve some answers so may I speak?" Flustered she breathed heavily after her interjection. The Admiral was silent. She looked at Jacob who was still at attention, but had turned his head to see her outburst. She calmed down and pulled up the two Spectre files on her omni-tool. "It's true, I was looking up reports of missing ships and the Normandy's sudden disappearance. And of Shepard's. But the Alliance had no answers so I went to the next best thing." She scrolled down the list of Shepard's Spectre information, glancing at his hologram. "The Spectre's have all this information on him, his reports, his Cerberus reports, everything." Hackett leaned back, and had a look as if he knew what was coming next. Miranda scrolled to the line at the bottom. "But this line, it's locked. It has information that I cannot even access with my Spectre authority. This same line is found in Normandy's file," she said as she pulled up Normandy's file and showed off the locked line. "I want to know what is locked inside this file. Why is something hidden about Shepard, Admiral?"

Hackett took a deep sigh inward, then punched some codes into his console. From a holo-projector on his desk, the same files in Miranda's hands appeared. Miranda turned her omni-tool off. Taking the line Miranda couldn't open, Hackett pulled both off to the side and got rid of the excess information. Pulling them back in front of him, he started to type into a key-pad a combination. The line glowed green and the words "Access Granted" appeared above it. All of a sudden the line transformed into an extensive file of information.

"Project Ark," Hackett stated letting the words on the files scroll through, "The Alliance developed a failsafe in case the Crucible had no effect on the Reapers or if we couldn't win. To preserve as many forms of life in the galaxy in case it fell into Reaper hands. The Normandy was that failsafe." Miranda was in shock. Jacob had dropped his stance. The information being displayed before them was rewriting everything they knew after their last talk with Shepard. About the end of war. Hackett continued, getting up and leaning over his desk. "The Normandy would escape into dark space to hide when we activated the Crucible regardless of its effects. It was to have its full crew aboard, or whoever was left during the battle, in order to preserve as much organic life as possible. Having prominent members of the War Effort aboard would also give the possible next cycle an advantage against the Reapers. However, Shepard was unaware of this project." Miranda looked up from reading the files. "Sir?" she asked.

Hackett took another sip of water. "We developed Project Ark shortly after deciphering the Crucible schematics. Commander Shepard was already charged with bringing the races together to fight the Reapers, so he and his squadmates were not informed of our plan. Captain Anderson was, as well as the Normandy's pilot, Jeff Moreau." Miranda looked a Jacob, who gave her a bewildered look back. "I know this is a lot to take in," Hackett said to them, "but the assignment you just completed was in relation to Project Ark. And with this new information, we can now begin the new project: Project Beyond." Jacob seemed to be discovering something in his mind. "The List of Forbidden Relay's…" Jacob said, "you need it to find the Normandy again. You need it to find Shepard." Hackett nodded. "It's time for the prodigal son to come home."

During the conversation, Miranda had been fighting back tears. Not tears of sadness, though. Tear of joy. Her love was alive. He didn't die in battle. Somewhere out there, he was alive and stranded. Stranded. Fear came over her. She had to speak. "Sir," she said, "if you're going after him, I'd like to volunteer to head the Project. I want to find him, sir. More than anyone." "I believe you," Hackett said, "and that's why I'm glad you're here. Both of you." Hackett moved to stand in front of the two soldiers. "I want a small team to retrieve this list, pinpoint the Relay last used by the Normandy, and find Shepard. Given your history with the Normandy and its crew, it seems appropriate that you two be the ones to take this mission." Miranda was in a state of pure joy. "We will be more than happy to do so, sir," she said with pride. "Good," Hackett said, "Now, you're going to need a crew and a ship. As I am aware, Dr. Cole is working on a prototype ship for the Alliance in the America's. While you gather your squad, we will be diverting all resources to completing that ship. And Admiral Lawson, I want you as captain of the vessel. You can get this done. And it will be good to have a ship of your own." Miranda gave the Admiral a salute. "Yes sir," she said. Hackett saluted her and Jacob. "This is a quiet mission. I don't want anything on the news about this. We bring Shepard back on our terms, understand?" Jacob and Miranda nodded understandingly. "Good," Hackett said, "now see that you build your crew wisely. I will notify you, Admiral, when the ship is ready. Dismissed."

The duo saluted Hackett, then walked out of his office briskly. Tears immediately ran down Miranda's face as they walked out into the hallway. Jacob didn't notice until they got to the stairs, but when he did he stopped her. "Hey," he said calmingly, "it's o-" He was interrupted by Miranda giving him a huge hug, to which he reciprocated. She let go, sniffling a little and looked a Jacob. "We were right, Jacob. He's alive." "I know," Jacob said, "and we're gonna find him." Miranda wiped her eyes. "Ya," she said, "we are. If it's the last damn thing I do, I'm bringing him back. Again." Jacob crossed his arms cooly. "So, we need a crew. Sounds like for more than just exploration, too. This Thorian has me wonderin'… I'm expectin' we'll need some firepower. More than we already have, I mean." Miranda nodded in agreement. "Yes," she said, "definitely. We need someone who is very good a killing." She smirked. Miranda knew exactly who to call.


	8. Chapter 7: Jack

Chapter 7: Jack

"Barriers up, Silvio! Rodriguez is moppin' the floor with you!" Jack looked on as the new addition to the biotic class, Mallory Silvio, engaged Ensign Rodriguez with a warp field before bringing her biotic barriers back up. Rodriguez put up a biotic sphere to block Silvio's warp, then pushed the sphere out to her, knocking Silvio backwards. Rodriguez flew to Silvio with a biotic charge and reached to grab her collar, but was knocked back by Silvio's throw. Falling a few feet backwards, Rodriguez got back up and shook off the hit. Her barriers went up. Silvio got off the ground, almost out of breath, and brought up her failing barrier. Rodriguez ran at her, screaming and throwing her fist into the air in a biotic fist. Silvio mustered all the power she could to defend her self. Just before Rodriguez could deliver the final blow, Jack intervened by pulling Rodriguez backwards onto the ground. She walked onto the mat. "Good," she said to Silvio, "But you made an error. Don't use your last ounce of energy unless you need to." Silvio seemed surprised. "How did you know I was almost out, ma'am?" Jack just laughed. She walked to help Rodriguez off the ground. "Sorry about the unexpected pull. Didn't want you to kill our newest student." Rodriguez chuckled. "That wouldn't have killed her, ma'am." Jack raised an eyebrow. "Really?" she asked. Rodriguez looked confused. Jack smirked and walked over the students who were observing the fight.

"Alright, what could Silvio have done to save her energy for that last hit?" A few hands went up. "Marko," she pointed. Marko stood up. "When Ensign used a flare, Silvio could have used the absorb maneuver to take in some extra energy." "Yes," Jack said, "that would have helped her by gaining energy but what about saving. Did she really need to use a charge at the beginning of the fight?" The students shook their heads no. "Exactly." Jack paced in front of the students. "Never waste your potential at the beginning of a fight because you're afraid you can't beat your enemy. 90% of the time you're gonna be more powerful than the guy across from you. And considering we don't need to deal with Reapers trying to kill us anymore, most of the time they won't be biotics. But in the event that they are, don't waste your energy trying to kill 'em off early. If they survive your attack, you're the one with the short stick. Alright?" The students nodded in understanding. "Good," she stated, "now head to the mess hall. Y'all deserve an early lunch."

The kids formed a clump as they headed down the hall to the Grissom Academy mess hall. Jack looked on smiling, seeing Silvio talking with Rodriguez, hugging her in good sport. She was happy to see the kids welcoming their newest member. There never was any bad blood after a fight, and that was pretty brutal one. Jack had never seen Rodriguez so pissed and into a fight before. She's come a long way since the Reaper war.

"Ma'am," a voice said behind her. She turned to see Jason Prangley waiting for her. "There's a call for you, ma'am. In Ms. Sander's office." "Thanks," Jack said. She gave the Corporal a high five and walked with him to Sander's office., "Remember when you used to be in my class and do those drills?" Prangley gave a laugh, then a deep sigh. "Yeah. I was so surprised that the Academy let me graduate so quickly after the war." "Ya," Jack replied, "but Prangley, you proved yourself. I keep telling you man, you're a biotic god. Give yourself some credit." Prangley smiled at her. "Ya, I do get to harass my old instructor every day." Jack laughed, slapping Prangley on the back. "Jerk-off," she said.

They walked through a door into a lobby area where some students were socializing, waiting for calls from the communication hub above them. Jack remembered fighting Cerberus here when they claimed the station. It's when she encountered Shepard for the first time since the Collector Base. He was just as surprised as she was. "God," she thought. Shepard was her mentor. She thought he knew, but she didn't think he really understood how much she looked up to him. After the Collector Base, she wanted to be like Shepard: respectable, proud, and a damn good soldier. Her fight during the Battle for Earth would have made him proud. Her only regret was not fighting alongside Shepard when she had the chance.

Walking through more hallways, they finally came upon their destination. Prangley stopped at the entrance. "Thanks for the walk, Prangley," Jack said. "Anytime, ma'am," he replied. He gave a salute, then left back the way they came.

Jack walked into the room and was greeted by Major Kahlee Sanders. She was promoted to major after the war due to her efforts on the Crucible, but stayed out of the military to continue her work at Grissom Academy. Being promoted was an honor to her. Jack remembered her talking about how Admiral Anderson would be proud… She took a blow when she heard he was dead. His body was found on the Citadel, lifeless. With a bullet wound in his abdomen. "Bad way to go," Jack thought. She couldn't help but think of Anderson when looking at Kahlee. "Jack," Kahlee said smiling, "there's a call on the QEC for you. Marked urgent." "Alright," Jack said, "I'll take it, but then I want to talk to you about some things I think we can do with the biotic kids. Some new exercises, see if you approve and what not." Kahlee nodded, "Of course, Jack. Just let me know."

Jack walked to the back of her office and went through the doorways that lead to a QEC. It glowed blue. Jack punched in a code into the keypad. A figure appeared. "Hello, Jack. Good to see you again." It was Miranda Lawson. "Ugh," Jack thought. Jack folded her arms. "Ah, well, look who it is. 'Sup perky tits. Nice dress blues. Use it for pole dancing still?" Miranda laughed, "It's good to see you too. Listen, I need your help with something. An Alliance mission, actually." Jack looked in faux-shock. "Me? Help? Really? Damn, cheerleader, you really must be in trouble if you need my help." Jack could tell Miranda was serious though. And she also knew that if Miranda needed help from Jack, it usually was for her gun and not her advice. Miranda smirked, "Yes, well, I'm putting a team together. And you're number one on my list." "Well, it's gonna take a lot to convince the administrators to let me take a few days off." Miranda pulled a datapad from behind her, "It's going to be a lot longer than a few days, Jack. It's important, to both of us, that this mission is seen through." Jack never liked it when something was "important" to Miranda. She got bitchy when that happened. "What is it we're doing anyway?" Jack inquired.

Miranda looked down a bit, putting the datapad down, and thinking heavily. "I shouldn't be telling you this over an unsecure channel…" Jack turned around, hit a switch, turned her omni-tool on and punched in a code. "There," she said, "Now it's secure." Miranda checked her omni-tool to make sure, then looked at Jack. "We're going to find Shepard." Jack's heart skipped a beat. "What?" she asked. "You heard me," Miranda said, "We are going to find Shepard. There was a project conducted by the Alliance to ensure the Normandy's survival at Earth. We're going to retrieve it." Jack was speechless. "I… I don't…" "It's alright," Miranda said, "You can imagine what I was thinking when I was told about this." "Yeah," Jack said, "it's just… how did… are you serious?" Miranda never looked more serious than she did now. Jack thought for a moment. "Ok," she said, "I'm with you, 100%." Miranda looked pleased. "Good. I'm glad you're coming along with us." Jack heard us and was curious. "Whose us?" "Jacob and I," Miranda said, "but we've still got some other people to recruit. Some old contacts to reconnect with." Jack smiled. It was like another Normandy suicide mission; just this time they'd be saving the Normandy. "Alright, sounds good. When do you want me to head to Earth?" Miranda pulled her omni-tool up. "As soon as possible," she said, "If you need an excuse, say it's authorized by Spectre Miranda Lawson." Jack forgot Lawson was a Spectre now. The news took a few days to reach them at Grissom. Miranda continued on, "We're waiting for our new ship to be finished. Brynn Cole is working on it for us. I suspect she will join us on our trip." "Hey," Jack said, "isn't that Jacob's wife? So we have to deal with them being all lovey dovey?" Miranda laughed, "Don't worry, Jack. Just head to Earth as soon as possible. We'll see you then." Jack nodded and turned to leave. "And Jack?" Miranda remarked. Jack turned back around. "Thank you. For doing this." "Anytime, squeaky cheeks." Jack joked.

The QEC shut off. Jack let out a huge sigh and gripped the wall next to her. She was in shock. 3 years she mourned Shepard. Now he's alive somewhere? Is he even still alive? She shook her head and huffed out some air. Collected again, Jack walked out of the room and spoke to Kahlee. "Sanders, I'm gonna take a leave absence for a while. Spectre authority." Major Sanders looked up. "Really?" Kahlee said, "Well, ok. Must be a big project if you've got that kind of authority." "Yeah," Jack said, "It is." "When will you be leaving?" Kahlee asked. "Tonight," Jack stated, "I want to finish today's classes up. After then I'll head out." Kahlee started typing into her console, then looked back up at Jack. "Who do you want to take over as your substitute instructor while you're away?" she asked. She thought for a moment, then smiled. "I want Jason Prangley to take over." Kahlee smiled with her. "That is an excellent idea. I know he wants to be a full time instructor here. I'll be sure to inform him." Jack nodded in agreement, "Yeah, he'd be a great teach. He already knows so much, don't know what else I could teach him." Kahlee nodded in agreement, then remembered something. "Oh, what was it you wanted to talk to me about with the exercises?" Jack thought for a moment. "You know what," she said, "let me email 'em to ya. I've got a lot on my mind right now, the exercises can wait." Kahlee understood. "Of course, Jack. Just let me know. Have a good rest of the day, and good luck on your trip." "Thanks," Jack said as she gave a casual salute to Kahlee and walked out the door.

As she walked back to class, so many thoughts ran through her head. Secret Alliance projects, him still being alive, Miranda being in charge. That would be difficult for Jack. In truth, Jack respected Miranda. She believed that she could bring together a good team just as Shepard could. She just had problems with, well, her bossiness. And her OCD attitude. And her perfect ass and tits.

Outside the main hall she saw the kids massing together after lunch, socializing with each other and having a good time. "I'm gonna miss these fuckers," Jack thought. She walked into the room and started yelling. "OKAY, OKAY, WHO WANTS TO DUEL FOR A GRAND PRIZE, HUH? WINNER GETS A NEW AMP!" The kids let out a huge cheer of gung-ho energy and laughter. Jack chuckled, "Alright, then head to the gym! You too, Leo!" The kids ran off toward the gym, whooping and hollering as they ran. Jack stood alone in the main hall. She looked around and took a deep breath. "Damn, I'll miss 'em."


	9. Chapter 8: Jacob

Chapter 8: Jacob

The Silver Sun Strip was glowing with vibrant colors and filled with rich people. Jacob Taylor walked through the crowd to reach the Silver Coast Casino on the far side. "Why did Miranda send me to get Kasumi?" he thought, "she knows about her and her obsession over me." Thinking about it made Jacob feel weird. He remembered back at Shepard's apartment, just before the Battle for Earth, when he threw that amazing party. Kasumi would not stay off him. Her cloaking device enabled her to be anywhere at anytime without him knowing. Jacob found it unsettling; he couldn't go to the bathroom that night without looking around, twice. He had to admit, her combat abilities were superb, especially for a thief. They would cover each other in firefights back in the Normandy's Cerberus days. One moment Jacob would see her behind cover, and the next she was behind enemy lines, flanking them with flash-bang grenades or assassinating one of their troops. She was an exceptional comrade in a skirmish.

Jacob came up to the door of the Casino, looking at the turian bouncer for entry. The police sky-car's lights were glowing off the reflective door panels and walls. The turian activated his omni-tool and let Jacob inside. "They're waiting for you inside, Lieutenant." Jacob nodded at the turian, "Thanks." Jacob entered the open door and walked into the Casino. From the bottom of the stairs he could see the C-sec police omni-tape marking off the crime scene. He walked up the stairs and through the tape, looking at the broken Quasar machines crackling with electricity. The lobby was filled with officers looking for evidence and casino security guards and workers with worried faces. A human detective walked up to greet Jacob. "Hello, Lieutenant. I heard you were arriving. Detective Kirk Lane." He extended his arm to Jacob. Jacob shook his hand. "Lieutenant Jacob Taylor." Jacob dropped the handshake. "So," Detective Lane inquired, "What is an Alliance marine doing investigating a burglary crime?" Jacob put his hands behind his back. "It's Spectre business. My friend Admiral Lawson wants me to recruit your partner for a special mission." Lane looked surprised. "Spectre business? Sounds serious. And by partner I assume you mean our 'C-sec Burglary Advisor'? She's in at the roulette tables checking for…"

Just as Lane was about to finish his sentence, Kasumi Goto uncloaked right behind Jacob, making Lane jump a bit. "Well I was. But then my 'Jacob senses' started tingling. And here I am." Jacob, completely un-phased, turned to face Kasumi. He chuckled, "Same old Kasumi." He looked around at the police investigating the scene. "Well, sort of," he remarked. Kasumi put a hand on her hip. "I know, I know," she said, a little embarrassed, "I thought I could never give up the rush of thievery. But then, I went to Shepard's funeral. Thought to honor him, I should fight the good fight now." She motioned to the officers on the scene. "I joined up with C-sec to consult on any burglary crimes. I get compensated enough. I've found a new hobby: solving other thieves heists." Jacob raised an eye as Lane walked over to a group of officers. "You've never had an itch to steal anything since working with them?" Kasumi looked around and whispered to Jacob. "I still do some work on the side. Some of the cases are my heists, but we never find the culprit. I cover my tracks carefully." Jacob chuckled again, "Then it is the same Kasumi." He looked at the police, then back to Kasumi. "You need to report to Earth. Miranda needs you for a crucial mission. Spectre business. And Kasumi…" Kasumi interrupted Jacob, "Of course, but I need to finish a few cases, some could take months if the guy doesn't slip up. He's been very thorough. First he hit the Citadel Inter-Species bank. Brought it's main vault down with a crew of 20, broke the codes to some very wealthy investors personal vaults, and-" Jacob interjected. "It involves our Commander."

Kasumi stopped her rambling and looked Jacob in the eye. "You mean… Shep-"Jacob quickly put a finger to his lips. "Shhh, don't say anythin'. It's not common knowledge. It's a secret mission. But we've got Miranda runnin' the show." Kasumi figured Miranda would fit in to this somehow. She nodded in understanding. "Alright. I'll come on this little mission of yours. But I want to see how far I can get with this one case." Jacob looked at her sternly. "Kasumi, we…" Kasumi put her hand to Jacob's face. "Hush, pretty boy," she said quietly, "and just play along."

She brought Jacob over to the group of detectives. "Boys," she called, "I'm gonna be leaving the service for awhile. Spectre's authority. But I want to try and finish the Dark Fox case before I go. My friend Lieutenant Taylor is going to help us." Jacob sighed. "It's never just easy, is it?" he asked himself. The policemen nodded in approval, and detective Lane walked over. "I'm sorry to hear you're leaving, Kasumi. We really could use your expertise." "Sorry Lane," she said, looking at Jacob, "This really is an important matter." Lane shrugged, "Sure, ok. I get that. Lt. Taylor, I'll bring you up to speed."

The three walked over to one of the casino's Quasar consoles. "There's a man out for green blood, and I'm not talking Salarian blood. We've dubbed him the Dark Fox." Jacob raised an eyebrow. He never was one for crazy theatrical names. Kasumi picked up where Lane left off. "The Dark Fox has been hitting a lot of banks and gambling sites across the Citadel. He's apparently got himself a private army, too. I've gotten to practice with my Locust again. This is his 4th robbery to date. First was the Inter-Species bank, then Purgatory, then The Dark Star Lounge on Zakera Ward, and now here. Silver Coast Casino." Jacob put a hand to his chin. "Odd choice of hits." "Yeah," Lane agreed, "his hit all across the Citadel. And he never leaves a trace. Not a thing get's left for us to track him with. No encrypted messages, so he's not playing us. No traces, so we can't follow him. We have no piece of evidence-" Jacob interrupted. "Well he's moving." Lane gave a blank stare. "Huh?" Jacob turned to face him. "Think about it," Jacob said, "He hit the Inter-Species bank. That's on the presidium. Then Purgatory. That's one floor below. The Dark Star is on the next one, Zakera ward, and now he's on the Silversun Strip. He's working his way down." Lane just stared dumbfounded. "What?" Jacob asked. Kasumi smiled at Jacob flirtatiously, "Jacob, you've got a knack for this." Jacob eased a bit away from Kasumi. "It… really isn't that difficult. Just look for the patterns."

Lane snapped out of his daze and started thinking. "Right. Patterns. So, if he's hitting the major targets starting from the top and going to the bottom, his next heist will be at…" Fear overtook Lane's face. "C-sec HQ. That's the next thing down, it's right below this level." Kasumi shook her head. "That doesn't make sense," she said, "Why C-sec? Isn't there anything of value down on that ward? Like a club or a bank, or at least a large market area?" Lane reassessed his thoughts. "You're right, actually there is a huge arms and ammunition market chain down there. Where people can stock up on armor and guns for their crews. We keep an eye on 'em in case we see any mass purchases, but they're good people." Jacob looked at Kasumi. "It's your call, Kasumi? Where would this guy go for the best prize?" Kasumi thought for a second. She started pacing. "Lane, you keep the prisoners on another level, right?" Lane nodded. Kasumi stopped pacing. "We know Dark Fox is running out of troops. He would need two things at this point: more guns or more men. I'd say considering prisoners are held on a separate floor, he's going for the guns." Lane agreed, "The market and C-sec HQ are both prime targets for weapon stocks, but the markets are more open. Easy to hit, not that heavily guarded. He doesn't have the man power to take HQ." Jacob cracked his knuckles. "Guess we know where we're headin'," he said coolly.

Kasumi and Jacob stood by a guardrail that looked out into the vast space station that was the Citadel. The view of Earth was stunning. Kasumi leaned over the guardrail and looked down. "Long drop," she said. "Yep," Jacob remarked, looking down into the station's metropolis, "long drop down." Kasumi looked up at Jacob. "So… this mission… about, well, him." Jacob kept looking down at the city below him. "Yeah… it's big Kasumi. Bigger than we imagined. Everything…" Kasumi seemed to know what Jacob meant. "He's alive, isn't he?" she asked. Jacob quickly looked at Kasumi and looked around. Realizing they were the only ones in the near vicinity, he calmed down. Resting, he looked down at Kasumi's dark eyes. "Yeah. He's out there." Kasumi smiled. "Knew it," she said happily, "there's nothing in the galaxy that can kill that man. I mean, except himself I guess." Jacob chuckled, "Well, after the clone incident, I would say not quite." "Oh yeah," Kasumi said reminiscently, "Forgot that was a thing."

She looked behind her and noticed some guards moving to positions. "I think Dark Fox has been spotted," she said. Jacob turned and saw it too: the C-sec guards were getting into the formation they planned back at HQ. "Aight. Guess that means it's game time, Goto. You ready?" Kasumi drew her Locust SMG and smirked at Jacob. "Try not to make me swoon, Jacob. You're combat skills were, as I recall, heartbreaking. Quite literally at times." Before Jacob could retort, Kasumi cloaked and was off to her position. Jacob just scoffed. He walked up to his position: a counter for weapon upgrade deals. Drawing his Scimitar shotgun, he watched as something moved swiftly, yet slowly around the far corner. A dark armored man with a squadron of troops similarly dressed strode into the open market and instantly began firing off rounds into the air. Civilians ran to cover and C-sec officers engaged the troops with volley fire. Caught off guard, the enemy troops scattered to find cover.

Jacob, being on the farther side of the market, ran forward to engage the troops. He skid across market counters and found cover behind a store front, peeking out to see what the firefight looked like. He could see C-sec agents firing to his right, meaning the enemies were hidden in cover in the right corner. "We've got 'em now," he thought. He then noticed the dark armored man who was leading them uncloak and jump behind one of the enemy's barricades. "Concentrate fire on the counter furthest back! Target Dark Fox is far back!" He started activating his biotics, dispatching enemies with his pull fields and bringing them out of cover with biotic grenades. After taking care of some of the forward hostiles, he turned his attention to Dark Fox. The enemies in the back were still behind their cover, but Dark Fox came out toting a ML77 Missile Launcher. "Oh shit," Jacob muttered. But before he could take action, he saw Kasumi uncloak behind Dark Fox. Delivering a flying kick to his head and incapacitating the other two men guarding him with blows to the abdomen, Kasumi wiped her hands and waved her omni-tool, signifying the fight was done. Jacob came out of cover and walked over to her position. As he came a round, he saw that Kasumi already had him in handcuffs. She was beaming.

"Great work, Kasumi," Jacob said. Kasumi shrugged. "All in a days work," she said, "We should do it again sometime." Lane walked over to the two, wearing his combat armor. "Brilliant work, thank you so much for the help Kasumi. You too, Lt. Taylor. You wouldn't think it, but you'd make an excellent detective." Jacob was puzzled. "Why do you say that," he asked. "Because," he replied, "you look at things from a normal man's view. And that sometimes is what a detective needs to do now and again: look for the normal stuff." Jacob chuckled a bit, and changed the subject. "So, Kasumi is good to go?" Lane nodded, "Yes of course." He turned to Kasumi. "It has been a privilege to work with you, ma'am. Come back soon, alright? We'll probably have a ton of cases for you." Kasumi laughed and shook Lane's hand. "It's been a good ride. I'll be back as soon as this is over, detective. Trust me." He smirked and left the two alone. Jacob turned to Kasumi and gave her a look. "Did you mean that as in you will be joining him soon, or causing him trouble soon?" Kasumi began to walk off. "Secrets, secrets, Mr. Taylor. A great thief keeps the cops guessing." She turned around and took a more serious tone, "But I won't until we get this mission done. I'll see you on Earth, Jacob. Tell Miranda I'm in."

Jacob smiled as Kasumi walked away and activated his omni-tool. He called Miranda. "Yes?" Miranda's voice rang out from the omni-tools speakers, "Jacob, is that you?" "Yeah," Jacob replied, "I've got Kasumi confirmed. Where you at?"


	10. Chapter 9: Miranda

Chapter 9: Miranda

Miranda peered up from behind a destroyed rock formation and looked out at the krogan forces off in the distance. She had been through a lot of fighting already, and using a stealth fighter to get to Tuchanka quickly was risky enough. She didn't want to waste any energy fighting troops she couldn't handle. "I've got Kasumi confirmed," Jacob's voice said over her omni-tool, "Where you at?" Miranda huffed some air, still trying to stay in cover to avoid notice. "I'm on Tuchanka, trying to make contact with Grunt. Wreav's forces are everywhere, though. I'm not sure where Grunt's located." "Miranda," Jacob's voice crackled, "you need proper back-up. I said wait for more of the team to assemble before gettin' in contact with him." Miranda reloaded her SMG, scoffing. "We don't have the time to wait for everyone else to decide if they're joining or not. We need Grunt, and we need him as soon as possible." "Will you even be able to convince him to join you?" Jacob asked.

Miranda honestly had no idea. There was a lot of bad blood with the Krogan now, even more than there used to be. Since Shepard never dispersed the Genophage cure on Tuchanka, the krogan never recovered their numbers fully from the aftermath of the war. Urdnot Wreav declared Tuchanka off-limits to the other races, claiming that he could never trust another species with the krogan's future again, and the only allies the krogan needed were themselves. All contact was severed with Tuchanka after that, and it was declared a no fly zone. The Reapers appeared to leave Tuchanka alone, leaving Wreav to his dying world. The krogan did develop some spaceflight transports and war vessels from the resources they gained during the war. Turians had given them plans to make their own fighters and frigates. Wreav wished to exploit this and launch into war against the other races. But something happened. A splinter group, lead by an unknown figure, broke off from Wreav's forces and sabotaged his plans for war. The krogan engaged in a short civil war on Tuchanka for a while, until the splinter group left the lifeless world on a frigate to find happiness elsewhere. Wreav's forces tried to track them down, but never succeeded. The only krogan left on Tuchanka were in allegiance to Wreav. Miranda heard, however, that there was part of the splinter group that didn't leave Tuchanka, and were periodically attacking Wreav's forces. She knew Grunt respected Wreav, but didn't like his tactics and plans for the Krogan. Him joining the splinter group was a bet she would take.

Miranda coughed from the dust and answered Jacob. "I don't know… I think he's part a resistance here. I still need to find evidence of their existence. Continue to your next dossier, Jacob. I'll come back with Grunt." Jacob's voice crackled through again. "Aight, just come back in one piece. If Grunt won't join, don't stick around to try and convince him. Taylor out."

Miranda deactivated her omni-tool and turned her attention to the krogan troops. There looked to be 4 soldiers, armed to the teeth. One of them had what looked like a missile launcher on his back. They were standing on a platform that had what seemed like a sewage drain running underneath it. Miranda took a deep breath and started to inch forward to closer cover. Eventually she got close enough to hear the krogan speaking. "Been too long," said one of the guards, "he said he'd be back in 10 minutes." "What? I heard 20," croaked another. Miranda was beginning to enter the drain at this point. She could see up underneath them through a small grate above her. She stopped to listen to their bickering.

"You both are wrong," said a third guard, "He said he was leaving to clock out for the day." The big krogan with the now identifiable Claw Hammer on his back stomped over. "Will you two shut it? We're supposed to be on lookout. Garv's not comin' back." The other three krogan stared at the larger one. "What? Why?" one of them asked. Miranda saw that the drain led to the other side of the platform, in short distance of the grate. "Because," the big one said looking down into the grate, "he's dead and we've got company."

Miranda gasped and ran to the other side of the drain. She heard a slam and the ground shook. Behind her the larger krogan had jumped off the edge of the platform and started running after her through the drain. When Miranda got out she was met with rapid fire from the krogan above her. She put up a biotic barrier to protect her while she jumped behind cover. "RAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" The large krogan yelled as he exploded from the drain's exit. "HUMAN! YOU'RE GONNA BE A PUDDLE WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU!" he yelled. "Not in this lifetime!" Miranda yelled back, breaking from her cover to pick the krogan up and slam him on the ground. Looking at the others up top, she sent a biotic throw at one krogan and started shooting at the other two, hitting one in the head and killing him instantly. The bigger krogan groggily got up and let out a roar. Charging, he swiped his Claw Hammer at Miranda, cleaving the cover she was behind and causing her to run to the other side of the enclave. The large krogan was quicker than Miranda though. He let out a blood-curdling scream and slammed the ground with the Claw Hammer, knocking Miranda to the ground. She turned over to see the krogan standing above her. He unhitched his helmet, showing his face. He was sneering at Miranda. "You're strong, for a human," he growled. Miranda kept her SMG pinned on him while she tried scooting away. It wasn't working. He raised the Claw Hammer above his head and it began to glow with biotics. "Any last words?" he inquired. "FUNNY!" a voice said, "I WAS GONNA ASK YOU THE SAME THING!" The krogan looked off left and was met with a concussive shot to the face, flinging him backwards toward the platform. Miranda looked up. "Grunt!" she exclaimed.

Grunt, with shotgun in hand, stood with two krogan guards standing behind him. He was decked out in his personal krogan armor, but had new scars all across it. New scraps and scabs, and on his forehead, Grunt had a large cut running diagonally right across his faceplate. Grunt looked at her, the blood rage pumping through his veins. "LAWSON, GET DOWN!" he roared. Miranda looked up. The krogan had gotten up and was charging toward her, getting closer by the second. She jumped up and ran behind Grunt's forces. Grunt growled, leaned back, and right as the large krogan was about to smash Grunt to pieces, Grunt thrust his head forward slamming into the other krogan's faceplate. He hit the ground with a thud. "Gruhhhh," the krogan groaned. Grunt raised his Claymore shotgun and executed the krogan. The two guards bombarded the remaining krogan with Striker rounds. They heard him scream in the distance, and when they were sure he was dead, they turned to face Miranda.

"Well, Grunt," Miranda said, impressed by his efficiency, "you've been quite busy since we last saw each other." Grunt turned and walked to meet her. "Yeah," he groaned, "it's been a rough few years." He reloaded his shotgun, and smiled. "But luckily, plenty of enemies for me to kill. What brings you here, Lawson?" Miranda looked around, noticing the two guards accompanying Grunt. She didn't want anyone to know about Shepard's possible existence except her team, even if was just two of Grunt's guards. "I need you for a special mission, Grunt. I'm putting a team together." Grunt smiled. "Sounds like fun. But I need to lead the resistance here. Wreav will overwhelm us if I leave so suddenly." Miranda interrupted, "Wait, Grunt, are you the resistance leader? Of the krogan rebels?" Grunt stood proudly. "I am," he said, "I've been leader since the beginning. Never liked Wreav's style. We're broken now, and Wreav is only out for blood. The krogan want to rebuild, not go to war, and if that means to fight for our freedom, then that's what we'll do."

Miranda put a hand on Grunt's shoulder, "Grunt… I'm so sorry." He didn't seem to understand. "There isn't anything to be sorry about. We're krogan! We endure the worst the galaxy has to offer, then spit in its face as it dies at our hand." Miranda chuckled, "Yes, but I'm sure you've had loss." "It's ok," Grunt barked, "we fight better angry." Miranda smiled. Grunt really was the perfect krogan. "Well," she said, "I still need you. It's important Grunt." Grunt pointed off in the distance. "Base camp is down there," he said, "we can talk more there. Let's get going." Miranda nodded and followed the krogan to base camp.

Walking into Grunt's camp, Miranda noticed the state of the krogan refugees. Krogan men and women were searching through scraps of metal and trash, some scrounging for food. It was bad. She could see they really needed leadership. Reminded her of the Refugee sector of the Citadel during the Reaper war. "This is the Aralakh Resistance." Grunt said proudly, "We're small, but we're hitting Wreav at his soft spots. Our plan is to just survive. Hopefully Wreav will become tired of fighting and open grounds for diplomacy. If he doesn't, we'll both die out." Miranda didn't like the sound of that. "How are you staying afloat? Wreav's forces are literally everywhere." Grunt chuckled, "He's weakening. We're close to shutting him down." "With conditions like this," Miranda said, "I'm surprised you haven't reached out for help."

Grunt walked into a deep cave lit with torches. Miranda followed into the dark cavern and followed Grunt down the tunnel. "We're krogan," Grunt said, "We may be dying but we don't want outside races getting into our crap." Miranda nodded, "Understood, Grunt." They ended up in a dimly lit enclave with a table. On top of the table was a map of what seemed like a large region of Tuchanka. "Guards!" Grunt barked, "Leave us." The guards turned and left. "So, Lawson," Grunt said, "this mission you're wanting me on. What is its goal? You wouldn't come to me unless you needed something killed, heh heh."

Miranda put her hands on the table and looked at Grunt. "The Alliance had a project during the Reaper war: Project Ark. It was designed to preserve life at all costs." She paused before continuing, "The Normandy was tasked with being this "ark" by flying as far away as possible when the Crucible was activated in order to hide from the Reapers in case it didn't work. It went missing, along with it's captain and crew…" Grunt started to understand. "Shepard… You're saying he's alive?" Miranda nodded, holding back tears. It was still a fresh wound. "Yes… and I need you because there have been some complications."

Grunt was staring at Miranda. He didn't know what to think. "I…. respected Shepard. He was a good friend. A great soldier." He blinked a bit, and Miranda collected herself. Grunt continued, "But he sabotaged the genophage cure… when it was possible to cure my people he chose to trick them." Miranda started to panic. She didn't want to get Grunt angry or become unwelcome. "Shepard's decision aside," Miranda said, "having the krogan become fertile again may not have been for the best considering Wreav's lust for war." Grunt nodded, "Yeah, but it still wasn't right. I don't hate Shepard. I respect him. Finding him, though… he would have a war crime to answer for. To my people." Miranda crossed her arms. "Are you saying you don't want to find him?"

Grunt seemed indifferent. Miranda also never remembered Grunt being this passionate about the krogan as a race. She remembered his admiration for them as warriors, but never as a people. Perhaps this new position as leader of the Aralakh Resistance changed him. "Shepard isn't dead to me," Grunt stated, "I want him to be alive…. I also don't want to believe that the human I knew and fought beside did this. My people are suffering even more now because of his decision." Miranda was worried. She was frustrated as well with the krogan's situation. She never was discriminatory toward aliens like Cerberus was. "I wonder what his reasons were," she said, sympathizing with Grunt, "I don't think he would do something like this without significant reasons. Shepard never did something drastic without one. We both know this." Grunt nodded, "Yeah… he always had a plan."

Grunt looked at the map of Tuchanka. "I want to help you, Lawson," he said, "but my people are dying here. I'd need more than Shepard's possible existence to leave them in this state." Miranda put her hand to her chin. "Well," she said, "I could get you some resources. More ammunition, guns, supply rations. What is it that you would need?" Grunt shook his head. "I don't need materials. I need things done." He stared back at the map on the table. "I need Tuchanka." Miranda didn't like the sound of that. "That's a tall order, Grunt. How do you expect me to help you take the entirety of Tuchanka?" Grunt smirked. Miranda didn't like it. "Simple, Lawson," he growled, "By killing Urdnot Wreav."


	11. Chapter 10: Kolyat

Chapter 10: Kolyat

"There," Kolyat said, finishing up the stitches on an injured human's leg, "You're all patched up." The human sat up and stared at the drell. "Thank you, Dr. Krios." Kolyat laughed, "Well, I'm not really a doctor. But you are welcome. You should be good to walk within a few days. Just keep using these crutches until then. If anything happens, call me and I'll see what I can do." The human smiled and limped out of the room.

Kolyat Krios walked to his office window. Smiling he looked out at the Citadel presidium, it's sky-cars zooming above the wards. "You would enjoy this, father," he said to himself. You would enjoy this, he thought. Kolyat had done much after his father's death. After the funeral Commander Shepard held at his apartment for Thane Krios, Kolyat left the Citadel to enlist in the hanar military. Acting as an engineer on one of their combat frigates, Kolyat gained recognition from many drell workers and soldiers as a "priest" of sorts, always giving the drell hope through their gods in the worst of situations. He not only helped fix engines but also tended to the injured soldiers that came back from combat drops. During the Battle for Earth, Kolyat served on his ship and had to launch in an escape pod when a Reaper tore open it's hull and started harvesting the crew. When he landed on Earth, he was met with carnage.

After the war, he returned to Kahje, the hanar homeworld, and learned from the great drell priests that resided there. When he had studied with them for 2 years, Kolyat returned to the Citadel to find work in the medical field. Here he met Dr. Chloe Michel, who allowed him to practice medicine at Huerta Memorial Hospital. Though not a true doctor, Michel vouched for Krios' abilities and won over the hospital's board of directors in a dispute to allow Kolyat to practice.

The office he started working in was the same as his father's when he was brought into intensive care. Thane died here, after the coup attempt by Cerberus. He was stabbed through the chest by a blade of unknown make. The doctors didn't give him much time to live, even when Kolyat came to try and save his father. Thane, being stricken with Kepral's Syndrome, could not survive with so much blood loss, as he could not take in as much oxygen as he was leaking out of his body. Shepard came quickly but was met with the bad news. There was no saving Kolyat's father, Shepard's friend. Kolyat saw the Commander was in pain. It was a look of pure sadness.

Kolyat knew that Shepard became a close friend of his father's. Thane had once said Shepard was one of the only friends he's ever had. When Shepard hosted his funeral, he said that, "Thane cared for the better angels of our nature". Despite being an assassin and a criminal, his father held himself with an honor no ordinary man could. He was a hero to the end, never just waiting for his next paycheck. His father helped the world by taking bad people out of it. Kolyat decided that he would help by keeping good people in it. It was poetic, to Kolyat. Not something he saw himself doing for the rest of his life, but he was truly content.

Kolyat walked over to his desk and looked at a picture frame of his father. It was taken on the trip they took to New Mexico before the war. Thane was smiling that subtle smile. The one he almost never smiled. Whenever he did, Kolyat knew that he was genuinely happy. He picked it up to take a closer look at it. The details of the picture were very prominent.

The sunset glistening off the rocks and shrubs; the breeze whispering in his ear; a sudden cough; a short stop; he's on the ground in puddled blood.

Kolyat snapped out of his solipsism. He forgot the picture was taken just before his father had a violent spasm. Kepral's Syndrome is not kind to the lungs, especially on foreign worlds. Kolyat had not suffered from Keprals like his father had, but being a drell he is always susceptible. Kolyat put the picture down.

A call came to his personal console. "Kolyat," Dr. Michel's voice rang out, "There's a man here to see you." "Send him in," Kolyat answered. After a minute, Jacob Taylor walked in to his office. "Mr. Taylor," Kolyat said graciously, "it is good to see you." Kolyat shook Jacob's hand. "It's good to see you too, Kolyat," Jacob said, "I see you're keepin' yourself busy." Kolyat walked to his office window. "Yes," he said, "I am helping the wounded and sick; nothing like open heart surgery or organ transplants, but I'm doing my best. My father would be proud."

He turned and looked at Jacob. "But enough about the past. You are here for something, correct?" Jacob crossed his arms. "Yeah," he said, "I got an assignment for Alliance brass. Miranda Lawson is runnin' the joint. Spectre stuff, real hush hush. But, we need a team. And we want you on that team." Kolyat looked puzzled. "If I remember correctly, my father always associated you and Ms. Lawson with large amounts of gunfire and killing. I am not my father. I cannot provide the same support my father did." Jacob shook his head. "We know you're not your father. But you're doin' well for yourself working as a doctor. We'd love to have you work as our ship's medic." Kolyat thought for a moment. "Why are you asking me?" he asked, "I'm not a very experienced doctor, Mr. Taylor. I don't have a lot to offer for a…" "Kolyat," Jacob interrupted, "it's a big mission. It's… important to people like you and me."

Kolyat moved to his desk and leaned on the desk. "What are you doing, Mr. Taylor?" Jacob activated his omni-tool and sent some information to Kolyat's. The omni-tool let out a blip and Kolyat started scrolling through the information Jacob sent him. His eyes widened as he stood up straight. "I see," he said with amazement. "So… will you join us?" Jacob asked. Kolyat thought for a moment. "Mr. Taylor," he started, "My father had the utmost respect for Shepard. He talked about him often." Kolyat stopped and looked down. "I too respected Shepard. And if he is out there, I will help you search. It would honor my father's memory." Kolyat walked over and gave Jacob an affirming handshake. "Thank you, Kolyat." Jacob answered.

Kolyat walked over to his desk and started to pack some of his things away in some cabinets. "When will we be starting this mission, Mr. Taylor?" Jacob chuckled, "You can call me Jacob, you know. We are gonna be crewmates." Kolyat stopped his packing and looked at Jacob over his shoulder. "Sorry," he said, "Ok, Jacob. When are we starting?" "Soon," Jacob replied, "We still need to assemble more of the team. Right now, though, I need you to report to Earth as soon as possible. The New York docks, specifically. We've got a ship waiting for us there."

Kolyat picked up his father's picture again. He looked at it for a good while. "I assume the need of a medic also means trouble might be found?" he asked. Jacob crossed his arms again. "It's always possible," he said. Kolyat put the picture into a small suitcase he had been packing. "Alright," he said, "I'll meet you all there." Jacob nodded and turned to leave. "Jacob!" Kolyat called to him. Jacob stopped and turned back. "This mission… It's good to know he's still out there." Jacob smirked. "Yeah…" he said, "The war didn't take everything from us." "That it did not." Kolyat replied. Jacob left. Kolyat looked out the window again. I'll find him father, he thought to himself. A Krios will always call a Shepard friend.

After he finished packing, Kolyat walked out of his office and sealed the doors. He walked down the hallway out into the lobby and found Dr. Michel at the reception desk gathering some papers. "Dr. Michel," Kolyat said to her, "I'm going to be traveling for a while. I will need some one to cover my shifts. Dr. Michel turned to face him. "Oh?" she said in her thick Russian accent, "Was that man intimidating you or something?" Kolyat chuckled, "Quite the contrary. I'm need for an Alliance mission. Spectre business as well, apparently. So I'll be gone for a while." Dr. Michel looked very confused. "Is it dangerous work?" she asked. Kolyat shrugged, "Not really sure. It is always possible." Dr. Michel gave a short sigh. "Well, then you are free to go, Dr. Krios." Kolyat's eyes widened. "Doctor?" he asked quizzically, "Did you just call me Dr. Krios?" Dr. Michel laughed and patted Kolyat on the back, "Kolyat, I think you've earned the title. Just have whoever is in charge of this mission send me an official statement. And write often. I want to make sure one of my best doctor's is doing well out there." She smiled at him. He gave a smirk back as he laughed. "Of course, Dr. Michel. I'll see you soon."

He smiled as he turned to leave. Dr. Michel was a kind woman. She had done so much for him: teaching him complex medical techniques, getting him this job. Now she considers him as a full-time doctor. He was very thankful for her. As he got in the elevator, he gave her a wave good bye. She waved back as the doors closed. Kolyat looked at the panel of buttons. "Well," he said as he pressed one of the buttons, "praying now would be good for my nerves." He put his suitcase down and clasped his hands together. "Arashu, Goddess of Protection, I ask that my body be calm, my mind be clear and my soul be ready for the tasks ahead. And if I die, Goddess…"


	12. Chapter 11: Samara

Chapter 11: Samara

"Grant me forgiveness." Samara looked up from her prayer, unclasping her hands. Peering from behind an entryway, she counted ten asari mercenaries in this temple's main lobby. All were armed to the teeth and sported purple armors. A few seemed on edge, and she noticed one of them walk up to an altar and place a bomb. Samara took her M-9 SMG and took a deep breath. Activating her biotics, she jumped out from cover and sent a shockwave through the ground toward the mercenaries. It split them down the middle, sending several flying off to the sides and some being suspended in the air. Samara threw two that were close to her back across the room and pulled the one activating the bomb.

The mercenaries recovered quickly and started firing at her. Samara ducked into cover and returned fire. She slid over to the other side of the pew she was hiding behind and sent a singularity flying into the middle of the pack. Several mercenaries were picked up by the miniature black hole, slowly swirling around and dropping their weapons. Spotting a mercenary going towards the bomb, Samara took a chance and biotically charged into her. The mercenary slammed into the wall, becoming unconscious. The others turned to fire at Samara, but were met with rapid SMG fire and volley's of biotics throws and warps. One of Samara's warps hit the singularity, causing it to explode, sending ripples of dark energy flying at the mercenaries. They were flung into pews and walls, and Samara made sure they were dead by reaving the life from them. She turned to the one unconscious on the ground behind her. Bending over to touch the mercenary's head, she touched a nerve center that caused the asari to wake up. She jolted from her sleep.

"GAH!" she yelled out, looking up to see Samara looming over her. "Why are you here, Valkyrie? To destroy the temple?" Samara asked, carrying her pistol now and pointing it at the young asari's head. "Justicar," she spat out, coughing blood onto the floor, "you of all people should see the truth. Our government is lying to us!" Samara cocked her head. "I have been in the presence of a prothean, young one. I know of our people's history." The rebel asari scoffed, "And you don't want to uncover what other beacons they've hid here? We decide our destiny, not some dead race!" Samara's biotics flared up as she holstered her pistol and placed her heel on the asari's neck. "Find peace in the embrace of the Goddess…" "THERE IS NO GODDESS!" the asari screamed out. Samara's eyes glowed with anger as she formed biotic fist and smashed it into the asari's face. Blood splashed onto the floor and wall.

Samara closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her code always got the better of her. With good reason, in her mind. The justicar code was above all else in her life, even general asari laws. Damning the Goddess Athame was not something she took lightly. Her outburst was in the heat of the moment. She wouldn't kill anyone for it, but she might lose respect for someone.

She looked over at the bomb placed at the altar of Athame. Walking over to it, she saw it was a thermal based charge. Reaper tech, she thought. Maybe, possibly. She picked it up and felt it's weight. Heavy, but not horribly so. Noticing it's curvature and sculpture, she could see it was of asari design, but the Reaper tech within it had given it a foreign look. Samara looked underneath it. A small marking could be made out. She felt it. Just a set of numbers. She carried the deactivated bomb to her sky-car outside of the temple.

The Reaper war changed the asari. The revelation of the prothean's hand in their advancement took a huge toll on the asari's morale. It sent them into an anarchical frenzy, with many asking for answers from their government. How could they keep such sensitive information from the public? Samara was surprised when talking with the prothean on Shepard's crew, Javik. Javik said that the protheans wanted to uplift the asari, and hoped that when the Reapers came to harvest them, they would have the tools necessary to defeat them. Samara, knowing this, still believed in her code. In Athame. She was one of the only remaining justicars. They became a very small order, one that still had weight in the balance of the galaxy. It was still her duty to honor the code and continue to protect the asari's borders.

Her daughter, Falere, was safe at the Ardat-Yakshi temple on Lessus. Samara visited often, and attempted to keep in touch despite her busy schedule. However, trouble soon arose from the constant public outbursts. After a few months, a rebellion started to brew within the asari society. A cult, calling themselves the Valkyries, started terrorizing cities and colonies within asari space. When they first struck, the famous asari commandos were combating them to the best of their ability. The Reapers that guarded the planets seemed to notice, but never took action. They were there for bigger threats, ones that would threaten organic life as a whole. Though the commandos were tough and disciplined, the Valkyries would eventually gain enough ground to math the commando's man and firepower. Looking for extra support, the asari government called upon the remaining justicars. They were a small force, but they turned the tide significantly, and for the past two years have not lost a single member to the Valkyries. As one of the most respected justicars, Samara was personally tasked by asari government to neutralize any public Valkyrie activity. This skirmish was one of those assignments. With the bomb secure and the temple safe, Samara headed back to her sanctuary.

Upon arriving, Samara parked her sky-car and carried the device into her home. Her house was a luxurious mansion, with very distinct asari architecture. It had a religious look to it, almost like a temple. She put the bomb on her kitchen counter and walked over to her fireplace. She quietly sat in one of her recliners and, from a distance, ignited the logs within the small enclave with biotics. She smiled. It was a relaxing end to a blood-pumping mission.

Suddenly she heard her communicator ring. Getting up from her seat, she turned to see her personal console blinking with a blue hue. She walked over to answer it. A hologram of an asari matriarch appeared before her. "Samara," the matriarch said, "have you stopped the Valkyrie agents from destroying the local temple?" Samara nodded, "Yes, Matriarch T'Wali. I have done so with haste." T'Wali seemed pleased. "Good," she said, "Your work has been unparalleled, justicar. When another assignment comes to light, we will notify you." Samara gave the matriarch a bow. "Of course." T'Wali nodded and ended communications. Samara stretched her neck and let out a sigh. Though she enjoyed her work and upholding the justicar code, having a break once in a while was always a welcomed commodity.

Just as she was walking back to her seat, however, her communicator rang again. Samara gave a puzzled look and sauntered over to it. When she activated it, she was surprised to see a familiar face projected in front of her. "Jacob Taylor." Jacob smiled and gave Samara a wave. "Hey Samara. Long time no see." "This is unexpected," Samara said, "Regardless it is good to see you." "Likewise, Samara," Jacob said. Samara smiled. Not something she did every day. Her friends were some of the only things in the galaxy that could make her smile. She was curious why Jacob was calling though.

"Why have you contacted me, Jacob?" she asked. "Is there trouble?" "Ha," Jacob chuckled, "No. Not the kind of trouble we're used to, at least. I'm calling on behalf of Spectre Miranda Lawson." Samara perked up when she heard the title Spectre. "I had heard Miranda had been inducted into the Spectres," Samara remarked, "Is this a Spectre assignment she is in need of help with?" Jacob scratched the back of his neck a bit before continuing. "We're putting a team together. Kinda like the good ol' days. Just…" Samara could see Jacob was hesitant so speak. "Yes, Jacob?" she said. Jacob took a moment before continuing any further. "Samara… it… involves someone. Someone we knew." "I do not think I understand, Jacob," Samara said, trying to decipher Jacob's meaning. Jacob activated his omni-tool and punched in some codes. "I'm sending a mission report your way. I want you to read it and get back to me as soon as possible." Samara saw the report pop up on her personal console. Activating her own omni-tool, she transferred the file from her console to her omni-tool and opened it in front of Jacob. "No need," she said smiling.

Samara started reading the first paragraph of the mission file. Her smiling face soon turned to a neutral expression, devoid of any feeling or emotion. As she continued to read, Jacob attempted to get her attention. "Samara? Samara, are you alright?" he asked tentatively. Samara just kept reading. When she appeared to finish, she shut her omni-tool down and looked at Jacob. Her expression was that of pure focused energy. Jacob had seen it on her before, when they assaulted the Collector base with Shepard. "I will put aside all other obligations to help your mission, Jacob," Samara said sternly, "This takes precedence over all other assignments from now on." Jacob smiled. "I was hoping you'd join up. I understand you're quite busy with the Valkyries on Thessia. If you ever need to be called back…" Samara cut Jacob off before he could finish his sentence. "There is nothing more important to me right now than finding Shepard, Jacob. He was my Commander. My friend. I owe him more than what this mission plans to accomplish." "Okay," Jacob said, "Well, I'm glad to here it."

He started to send another message from his omni-tool. "I'm sending you the meeting point for all the crew members. We're meeting at the New York Alliance Docks in Bay N117. Got ourselves a brand new ship." Samara received the information. "Thank you, Jacob. I will arrive on Earth shortly." Jacob began to shut the communicator off when Samara interrupted his action. "Jacob, I have to ask. If this is Miranda's mission, why was it not she who contacted me?" Jacob chuckled. "Ya… about that… Miranda's, well, a bit busy at the moment…."


	13. Chapter 12: Miranda

Chapter 12: Miranda

Miranda swatted a fly out from in front of her face. The kalikasaur she was riding swayed from side to side as it marched in time with the rest of the cavalry. Behind her was a troop of krogan soldiers, not enough to siege a city but enough to make someone nervous. Grunt was riding next to her, carrying a claw hammer and his signature Claymore shotgun. Miranda turned to him, wobbling up and down from the kalikasaur's heavy strides. "Grunt, we want to solve this as peacefully as we can," Miranda said, "When we find him, you've got to give him a fair trial." Grunt scoffed loudly. "When I find him, Lawson, I'm driving the claw hammer into his skull." Miranda shook her head. "Killing him will just make you like him. You need to be the new leader for your people, not just a replacement."

Looking on, Grunt raised his fist, signaling the troops behind him to stop. With a halt, Grunt grabbed a sniper rifle from another krogan's holster and peered out in the distance. There was Wreav's base. It sat in a sloped ravine with a large valley. Perfect for battle. Grunt reported his findings out loud. "20 men at the entrance, all armed, no signs of multiple entryways." He gave the krogan back his sniper rifle, and called him by name. "Dagg, we need to catch them off guard. Bring a group around from both sides. We'll charge the middle and when we engage, you flank them." Dagg nodded and pulled his steed around to inform the rest of the troops.

Grunt turned to Miranda. "If I can't get him to surrender, I'll spare him. But if he won't back down, I will kill him." Miranda and Grunt stared at each other for a moment. "You know you're better than that." Miranda said softly. Grunt turned to look out at the enemy forces. His men were in position. "Time to fight," he said, "You ready, Lawson?" Miranda nodded, "Of course."

Grunt grinned a savage grin, and with a commanding howl, charged down toward the enemy base. "CHARGE!" he screamed. Miranda was caught off guard but recovered quickly and joined his lead. His forces swiftly followed him down the ravine into enemy fire. Wreav's forces spotted them and readied armaments. Striker rounds were bombarding their kalikasaur steeds. Krogan were falling left and right, but Grunt's men were returning enough fire to give Wreav's forces trouble. Grunt, being the closest to the enemy, fired his shotgun as rapidly as he could while colliding with Wreav's men, trampling them and spreading them out.

Suddenly, Dagg's forces charged from either side, confusing the enemy krogan and putting them at a disadvantage. Miranda, having been thrown from her steed, was combating a rather large krogan who was carrying a Graal Spike Thrower. She jumped up, dodging a spike, and rolled forward to jab the krogan in his abdomen. He bent over in pain, and Miranda met his chin with her foot by way of an upward sidekick. Bending back up and drawing her pistol, she executes the fallen krogan. Hearing a krogan roar, she turns to her right to see a krogan charging at her. Activating her omni-tool, she shocked the krogan with an overload and delivered several kill shots to the krogan's faceplate. Miranda spun around as she heard heavy footsteps approaching her. With the adrenaline pumping through her veins, she was only seconds from pulling the trigger. She stopped, however, when she saw the footsteps were Grunts own. He was backing up and shooting out with his shotgun.

Miranda regained her focus and put her back to Grunt's. They shot at the many krogan foot soldiers that rushed at them. "YEAH!" Grunt screamed, "FEEL THE BLOODRAGE!" Miranda grinned. Grunt, having killed all on his side turned to Miranda's and gave firing support. Picking up the very last krogan with her biotics, Miranda smashed the creature into the ground, picked it back up, and smashed it again, breaking the ground and creating a crater. "Heh," Grunt laughed, "You fight like him, Lawson." Miranda smirked. "That means more than you realize."

She looked behind him and saw another krogan soldier laying down his rifle. "We've got a hostage, Grunt," she informed him. Grunt turned to see this whelp. He stomped over and grabbed him by the faceplate. "Where is Wreav?" Grunt asked violently. The krogan winced in pain. "He's in his throne room, at the top of the tower. You'll never be able to fight your way through, though. He has an army in there." Grunt looked pissed. "We're gonna walk in there and meet Wreav without trouble because I challenge him. One on one. Just him and me. Last standing gets Tuchanka!" He released the krogan, throwing him to the ground. "GO, tell him! NOW!" Grunt roared. The whelp hurried off through the doors on the fortress.

"So you're going to challenge him?" Miranda asked, "One on one? Without back up? What happens if you don't beat him, Grunt? We all get slaughtered?" Grunt looked at Miranda. "I'll beat him," he barked. Miranda met him face to face. "And what if you don't, Grunt?" Grunt stared back at her for a few moments before answering. "If I don't…. he wins." Grunt said bluntly. Miranda backed off.

Grunt never was one to admit a possible defeat. It was always for glory or for honor with him. Never thinking about if he'll make it out alive. The notion comes with being a krogan. She remembered him having no fears when they went through the Omega 4 Relay with Shepard's squad. He was ready to face the demons that awaited them. Here, he seemed off. Like he was almost scared. He had a responsibility now, to his people. She wondered if it was getting to him.

The doors opened suddenly, and a platoon of krogan soldiers marched out to meet them. Grunt's men armed themselves. Miranda pointed her pistol toward the horde of troops. That's a lot of men, she thought. The brutes split down the middle and out walked Urdnot Wreav, decked in heavy armor and carrying a Claymore shotgun. He looked manic, like a wild animal. Miranda tensed up. "Weakling!" Wreav spat out violently, "You dare challenge me for the whole of Tuchanka!?" Grunt was still, his feet firmly planted. "Yeah," he said calmly, "I'm asking you nicely. You refuse my offer, I kill you here. Now." Wreav laughed, "You don't have the quad, vermin!"

His gaze shifted to Miranda. "You've grown so soft you ask for help from our enemies? Human!" he barked, "Why are you helping this youngblood?!" Miranda turned to Grunt, who was looking at her but still fixated on Wreav. "Because he's my friend," she said, "and you need to be stopped, warlord." Wreav scoffed. "I'll be keeping you as my personal trophy," he said as he smirked. "As for you, scum," he directed to Grunt, "I accept your challenge. When you die, your head will be a monument for all krogan to see." Grunt just stared at Wreav. He just stared and breathed. "Meet at the Hollows," he said coldly, "There we shall decide Tuchanka's fate." Wreav stretched his neck, "Oh, it'll be good to fight again after so long. My blood burns for yours, maggot."

Wreav let out a snarl, then retreated back into his fortress with his forces. Grunt sheathed his weapon, still starting at the closing doors. "Grunt," Miranda said, trying to get his attention, "Grunt!" Grunt turned and looked at Miranda. "You okay?" "Of course I'm ok!" he said, "We need to go to the Hollows, now!" Grunt started off but Miranda stopped him. "Don't just barrel through this, Grunt. There's a lot at stake." Grunt shrugged her off. "I'm not dumb Lawson," he growled, "I know what's at stake, I know that he could easily play dirty. But I'm not going to go easy on Wreav. His rule will end today!" Grunt turned and walked off, ordering his troops to move. Miranda followed, but she was worried about the battle to come. Wreav seemed ready for a fight, and Grunt just tensed up when he saw him. If Grunt gets that same tenseness during his duel, Grunt would fail. Miranda believed in Grunt. It's Grunt that didn't believe in himself.

The Hollows were echoing with the sound of krogan boots. So many gathered, from both sides, to see the death match between the two leaders unfold. Miranda was on one side of the Hollows, preparing Grunt for the fight. He was sitting down on a stump, loading his Claymore. On the other side was Wreav, snarling and preparing his weapons of choice. "He looks mad," Miranda remarked, "You should be cautious. Play the calm fighter and he'll spiral out of control." Grunt stared down Wreav before turning to face Miranda. "I'm not sure I want to be calm, Lawson," he said. "If you get angry, like him, you'll be unfocused," Miranda said, "Just try it. This could save your life." Grunt looked down at the ground. "It's in my blood. It is what I am for." Miranda touched his shoulder. "Then fight for them."

Grunt looked back at the krogan refugees that arrived to the fight. Miranda watched as the most dangerous krogan she knew evoked the rarest emotion a krogan could emote: love. Grunt got up and went to one of the krogan females, took her hand and said something to her. Then he moved to next refugee, and the next one. He went down the line until he stopped and looked back at Miranda. Walking back to her he put out his hand for her to shake. She took it firmly. "Today," Grunt said, "Clan Urdnot dies." He smiled.

Giving Miranda a pat on the back, he moved to the center of the ring. Wreav turned and saw his opponent ready. The crowd of refugees was cheering behind Grunt with a zeal the krogan had not experienced in a long time. Wreav let out a guttural graon and put away his Striker rifle. He stomped to meet Grunt in the center of the ring. Miranda watched as the two met, just staring at each other. "You are soft, Grunt," Wreav sneered, "You may have these people on your side, but when you die, they will all be mine. And those who refuse, I'll send your way." "You're a tyrant, Wreav," Grunt spat back, "My "softness" as you say makes me strong. These people want Tuchanka back, and you dead." Wreav spat onto the ground. "I'll be damned if a tank-bred whelp takes over MY world."

He turned and walked back a bit, showing off. "So do you REALLY think that YOU can BEAT ME?!" he roared. Wreav's side laughed and shouted expletives at Grunt. "YOU KNOW I CAN!" he screamed back, "YOU KNOW, THEY KNOW, EVERYONE KNOWS, OLD MAW! YOU'RE NOT EVEN WORTH THE KILL!" The crowd went wild. Miranda smiled. Grunt was pumped full of adrenaline.

Wreav turned slowly, his eyes fixed on Grunt. He growled, and in one swift motion ripped his Striker rifle from its holster and shot wildly at Grunt. The shots smashed behind him into the crowd. Some krogan got hit, others barely. Miranda ducked and pulled her SMG out. If the need should arise, she was going to intervene. Grunt ran to the right side of field and hid behind a rock. Pulling out his Claymore shotgun, he fired two rounds from behind the rock, then lobbed an inferno grenade whilst under fire from Wreav. Wreav saw grenade and jumped, dodging the blast. Grunt ran from cover, firing his shotgun at Wreav. Getting up Wreav fired a few shots a Grunt. One hit him, slowing him down, but Grunt persisted. When he got too close, Wreav threw his rifle to the ground and charged Grunt. He got hit by Grunt's Claymore shot but smashed into Grunt, flinging him back wards. His Claymore was knocked from his hands. Grunt got up and locked heads with Wreav. Miranda thought it looked like two Triceratops's fighting together. Grunt flung Wreav to the ground and stomped on his faceplate. Wreav winced and grabbed Grunt's boot. Getting up, Wreav, still holding Grunt's boot, flung him to the ground and started pounding Grunt with his fists. Miranda was seeing blood flying about. She prepared to move. "YOU, ARE, FINISHED, GRUNT!" Wreav wildly screamed. But then, Grunt caught one of Wreav's fists. He headbutted Wreav, knocking him back, and slowly but surely, Grunt got back up. He was bleeding all over his faceplate and jawline. Wreav had some blood trickling from his head when Grunt smashed him with his boot. Wreav breathed heavily and screamed as he ran again at Grunt. Seeing the Claymore shotgun on the ground next to him, Grunt swiftly grabbed it from the ground, brought it up, and just as Wreav was about to tackle him, Grunt pulled the trigger as the barrel of the gun was in Wreav's face. Blood spattered across the arena as the shot echoed through the quiet room. Wreav's lifeless body fell to the ground.

The krogan refugee's cheered wildly as Miranda and Dagg ran to Grunt as protection. "You did it sir!" Dagg said, "You killed him!" "That was some fight," Miranda said, "You honored your people." Grunt was too winded to thank her, but he nodded. As he was recovering, the other krogan loyal to Wreav looked around at each other. Some had their weapons drawn. Grunt limped up to the center of the arena, closely followed by Miranda and Dagg. Having regained the majority of his strength, Grunt began to speak to the crowd.

"TODAY," he roared, "CLAN URDNOT IS NO MORE!" The crowd cheered, with silence from Wreav's men. "YOU WHO SERVED WREAV MUST JOIN THE KROGAN PEOPLE. HE IS DEAD, AND NO LONGER HOLDS POWER ON TUCHANKA! NOW, YOU FOLLOW THE NEW CLAN OF TUCHANKA: CLAN ARALAKH!" The krogan cheered behind Grunt. Wreav's men hesitate, but they slowly walked to the other side and joined Aralakh's forces.

Grunt looked as his numbers grew and as the people rejoiced and made amends. "You did them proud, Grunt." Miranda said. "Thanks," Grunt replied, still staggering to stand. "I want to help you with your mission. But, as you can see," he said gesturing to the refugees, "I have responsibilities here." Miranda understood. Grunt had other priorities. "But," he said, "I can send with you a token of good faith. My second-in-command, Dagg. He will accompany you on your mission, as my krantt " Miranda smiled, glad to see Grunt was still contributing. "Thank you, Grunt." she turned to Dagg. "Dagg, you'll need to be briefed. It's a big assignment." "Don't worry," Dagg said reassuringly, "I'm as committed as Grunt is. You are a friend to the krogan, and it's an honor to be working with you." He shook Miranda's hand. "Thank you, Dagg. I've got a shuttle just due North of your main camp. We will head out as soon as you're ready." Dagg nodded and walked off to do some business with the other krogan.

"I'm pleased that you've been able to unite the krogan, Grunt." Miranda said, "I hope they stay that way." Grunt let out a sigh. "I'm not a political leader. But I do what I am meant to. These people need me. And I am here to lead them." Miranda smiled and wiped some blood from Grunt's head. "Good bye, Grunt," she said, "I'll keep you informed of our progress. And if we find anything." Grunt nodded. "If you find Shepard," Grunt said, "Tell him I'm sorry I couldn't be there to meet him." Miranda nodded. Grunt looked off, saw something that needed his attention, and limped off.

As Miranda watched him leave, she turned to the dead body of Urdnot Wreav. He was vile, sick. Good riddance, she thought. She walked off to the transport that brought her to the Hollows, ready to return to her mission. The future held much for her, as her mission was finally ready to begin.


	14. Chapter 13: Jacob

Chapter 13: Jacob

The ship's drive core hummed as Brynn Cole tweaked its output and internal workings. It was cone shaped and smaller than the Normandy's. It's reactor core shown brightly with a blue hue. Brynn looked to see if it was secure, then walked back to work on the main engines. Jacob was already back there checking the systems. "Everything okay, baby?" Jacob asked. "Yes," Brynn answered, "All system levels are normal, reactor is working properly, the venting process is functional. Everything looks solid." She smiled and gave Jacob a touch on the shoulder as she moved to the other terminal behind him.

Jacob finished up his work and looked to Brynn. "I'm gonna go up top, check on the rest of the crew," Jacob said, "Everyone should be meeting outside soon." "Okay," Brynn said, "I'll be up shortly to tour." Jacob walked through the door to his left and entered the spacious shuttle bay. Going by the armory and Kodiak class shuttle transport to the elevator, he punched in a level and took it up a floor. He entered onto the Crew Deck. In front of him was the Mess Hall, which had a kitchen and ample tables and chairs. To his left, next to the elevator doors, was the Med-Bay. Across from the Med-Bay were some of the crews living quarters. There was one on the right in the same position, only it was across from the Life Support room. The two Crew Quarter's made the walls of the Mess Hall, and behind the mess's kitchen were the Forward Batteries.

He walked into the Med-Bay and checked the supplies, noticing a lack of prescription drugs. An easy thing to neglect, especially on a war-ship. They had pain-killers of course, but it was anti-toxins Jacob noticed that was lacking. Jacob made a note and left the room. In the mess hall, sergeants Tess and Aubrey Reynolds were eating their breakfast as they talked about their new posting.

"You hear what we're doin' here?" Tess asked Aubrey as she shoveled eggs into her mouth. "Please," Aubrey said, "enlighten me. It's not like I've read the de-brief." Tess swallowed her mouthful of eggs. "We're goin' after a Thorian! That thing hasn't been around since that attack on Zhu's Hope! Remember what mom and dad said? When they were controlled?" Aubrey snapped at her sister. "Tess, come on! This is serious. I remember what happened with mom and dad; I was there! I remember the headaches they had after the fact. The dreams they would have. The ExoGeni bastards I had to deal with, and the contracts from Baria Frontiers." Tess had stopped eating, shell-shocked. "Something goin' on here, you two?" Jacob said as he passed by.

Aubrey collected herself. "Nothing, Lieutenant Taylor, I'm just… We were just talking about the mission. Tess here is my sister." Tess gave a sheepish wave as she slowly returned to eating. Aubrey continued on. "We grew up on Feros, in the Zhu's Hope colony. Our parents were under Thorian control for a time. We weren't there long enough for it to take hold of us though. Our parents sent us to an Alliance training school back on Earth when we were 11. We've had experience with Thorian powers though, sir. We're both well qualified." Jacob found their connection to Zhu's Hope interesting. "You grew up there? Your parents were under Thorian control?" he asked, "I heard the colonists have some sort of mind connection now because of the Thorian." Tess perked up a bit. "Yeah," she said, "but only in close proximity now. It was measured to span across systems. It's been dialing down though." Aubrey joined in the conversation. "It was the only way they survived the Reaper invasion. Their neural connectivity was a huge advantage in repelling waves of Reaper forces. We were just lucky that mom and dad got out in time." "Yeah," Tess agreed. Jacob nodded folding his arms. "Alright," he said, "well I'm glad you're on board for this. This isn't the same Thorian, though. It's a different one, and from its actions on the survivors of the Hugo Gernsback, it's hostile. So be ready when we find it." Aubrey stood and saluted Jacob, swiftly followed by Tess. "Whenever you need us, sir, we're ready." Tess chimed in. "Be good to finally see this thing face to face." Jacob saluted them back. "Good to hear."

Jacob dropped his salute and continued on to the Batteries. There was a Thanix Cannon installed as the main gun, with GARDIAN lasers and Javelin disrupter torpedoes making up the other armaments. Jacob checked the systems. Some of these guns need calibrating, Jacob thought to himself. He made a note and continued on. Walking back into the elevator, he took it up one more floor to the Bridge, where he entered upon the ship's Galaxy map and Navigational crew. The Galaxy Map and CIC were dead center, similar to the Normandy's design, with crewmen working at console's alongside it. To his left was the door to the Technologies Lab, which was housed alongside the pathways around the CIC that lead to the main cockpit. On the right side of the CIC and in parallel to the Tech Lab was the Communications Room. It held the ship's QEC and several other communication and information hubs. Behind the elevator was the Captain's Quarters, which held three lavishly decorated bedrooms: one for the Commanding Officer, one for the Executive Officer, and one for the Gunnery Officer.

Jacob walked by some crew members who gave him friendly greetings until he came to Navigator Adam Collins. "Sir," Collins said with a salute, "everything is green. Whenever you need us we are good to go." "Good," Jacob said, "The rest of the crew should be outside. I'm about to head out and bring 'em in." "Aye, Aye." Collins said briskly. Jacob gave him a salute and headed to the docking area next to the cockpit, which was in front of the galaxy map. As he went into the decontamination port between the ship and the outside world, he smiled. This ship was almost as good as the Normandy. He'll need to give it a name soon.

"God, why am I the most punctual? Seriously, of all people." Jack was leaning against a column outside in the New York docking bay. It was docking bay N117. In the bay, Jack saw a ship that had a little bit of a resemblance to the Normandy, though it lacked it's elongated hull. The engines looked the same, but it was like someone smashed the hull to make it shorter and rounder. Jack scoffed. She still was pissed that she was there first. Waiting made her mad.

"Ma'am," a voice said behind her. She turned and saw a drell standing behind her. Looked a bit liker her old teammate Thane Krios. "Yeah?" she asked, curious. "Is this docking bay N117?" the drell asked. "Yeah," Jack replied, "You here for the mission?" "Yes," the drell answered, "I am Kolyat Krios. I've been asked to come as the team's medic." He outstretched his arm to shake her hand. "You are?" Now Jack remembered the drell. "Oh, you're Thane's son! I thought I had seen you before. Name's Jack." She shook his hand. "I knew your father. He was a hell of a shot." Kolyat chuckled. "Yes, that is very true. He had told me of you, Jack. I remember him speaking of your prowess in battle. He was very envious of your biotic abilities." Jack smiled. "Yeah, well, Thane was skilled in his own way, too. Wish I could do what he could do." Kolyat looked down, smiling.

He looked up quickly, as if sensing something. "Someone is cloaked behind you, ma'am." Jack was surprised and quickly turned around. "How'd you know, Kolyat?" Kasumi said as she uncloaked. Kolyat smiled. "A trick my father taught me. You must be…" Kasumi quickly gave Jack a huge hug and ran around to shake hands with Kolyat. "Kasumi Goto. I remember you from the funeral. I never forget a face." Kolyat shook her hand. "Ya look good, Kasumi," Jack said, "How've ya been doin'?" "Oh, you know, doing this and that," she said, "just helping cops solve crimes for a time. Learned a lot. Did a few jobs on the side." "Sounds like you kept yourself busy," Jack said. "Yeah, I did," Kasumi said, "but when Jacob came and got me for this mission, how could I say no?" Jack laughed. "Yeah, you and your obsession with his black abs." "Hey," Kasumi scolded, "They are perfect. So perfect." Jack looked around. "Is this it?" Jack asked, "is this the squad?"

Just as she started speaking, Miranda and Dagg sauntered from the shadows towards the group. "No," Miranda said, "with the two of us here, we're just waiting on one more." Jack, Kasumi and Kolyat looked up at the duo. "Hey, if it isn't the leader of this brave company," Jack said mockingly. "Hey Miranda!" Kasumi said pertly. Kolyat gave a bow as Miranda waved at them. Jack looked over at Dagg, curious to see a krogan outside of Tuchanka territory. "Who's the krogan?" Dagg puffed out his chest and introduced himself. "I am Aralakh Dagg, second-in-command to Aralakh Grunt." Jack raised an eyebrow. "Last I knew Grunt, it was just 'Grunt'. What's this Aralakh business?" Miranda explained the situation. "I was looking for Grunt on Tuchanka. Ended up helping his resistance end the Urdnot clan's reign over the planet. Dagg is here in Grunt's stead. Grunt is busy with rebuilding his people." Jack thought about this. She then extended her arm to the krogan. "Welcome to the team, dude."

Dagg shook her hand smiling, then moved to greet Kasumi and Kolyat. Jack walked over to Miranda. "Grunt is leading the krogan?" she asked. "Yes," Miranda answered, "I saw him kill Urdnot Wreav. Grunt was beaten badly, but he pulled it out in the end." They watched as Dagg talked with the two other members. "He's loyal to Grunt, then?" Jack asked. Miranda looked at Jack curiously. "Are you asking me if we can trust him?" Jack shrugged. "Just saying. The krogan are recluses now. Was Grunt still the same Grunt?" Miranda shook her head. "No, he was different, but for the better. Grunt is a leader now. He's still blood thirsty and ruthless like we know him. But he cares for his people. Dagg is loyal to him and I believe that he carries the respect for this mission that Grunt does." Jack seemed to understand.

Dagg bridged the gap between the two groups. "I like these people, Lawson," he said, "I look forward to shedding the enemies blood alongside them!" Miranda smiled and nodded. "We're glad to have you along, Dagg." Looking around, Dagg spoke again. "You told me about an asari warrior being on the team. I don't see one here." "That is because she is just now arriving." Everyone turned to see Samara walking over towards the group. She was smiling, happy to see everyone together. Miranda hurried over to greet her. "Samara! It's good to see you!" "Thank you," Samara replied, "It is good to see you too. And may I congratulate you on your new title as Spectre. It is a great honor." Miranda shook her hand. "Thanks. That means a lot." Samara looked over the rest of the team. "Jack, Kasumi Goto. Good to see you again." Jack and Kasumi waved. "Likewise, Samara," Kasumi said, "do any justicar-ing lately?" Samara chuckled, "More than you know, Kasumi."

She moved to greet Dagg. "Hello, Dagg. It is good to see you again." Miranda looked surprised. "You know Dagg?" Dagg smirked as he shook Samara's hand. "I was wondering if you were the justicar she was talking about. Good to see a familiar face." Samara smiled back at Dagg. "About a century ago," Samara explained, "I was on Tuchanka attempting to kill an asari criminal who was hiding out on the planet. Dagg was in his clan's security force, and I worked with him personally to bring her down." Dagg chuckled. "Several chases through the back roads, temples, and an attack from a Harvester that would make you piss your pants. That was a good fight, Samara." "Indeed." Samara said smiling back.

She moved to greet Kolyat, who was at the back of the group. "Hello, Kolyat Krios." He shook her hand. "Hello again, justicar Samara," he replied, "It is good to see you again." Samara smiled and gave Kolyat a bow. "You know I respected your father a great deal," she said, "though he was a criminal in the eyes of the law. I am deeply honored to be working with you, Kolyat Krios. You honor his memory by joining us." Kolyat nodded his head slowly. "That gives me great pleasure, justicar. Thank you."

Jack interrupted abruptly. "Alright, so we're all here, when do we go on the ship?" Suddenly the doors to the ship opened and Jacob Taylor walked out to greet the team. Everyone turned to see him exit. Miranda smiled. It was really going to happen. "Hey all," Jacob said, "Welcome aboard the SSV Eos."


End file.
